Preparing molecular animations for presentations often raises the question: how can I make certain components of a model appear and then vanish in sync with narration or key visual moments? Whether you’re explaining reactive sites in a protein or walking through a complex molecular mechanism, controlling when things appear and disappear can make your animations much more effective—and digestible.
This is where the Flash animation in SAMSON can help. Unlike transparency-based effects, the Flash animation controls the visibility of nodes—entire molecular structures or parts of them—at precise points in time in your animation timeline. It’s minimalistic, crisp, and perfect for emphasizing key areas during a presentation or video.
Using Flash for Targeted Attention
The Flash animation works using four keyframes:
- From keyframe 1 to keyframe 2: the selected nodes remain hidden.
- At keyframe 2: the nodes become visible.
- From keyframe 2 to keyframe 3: the nodes stay visible.
- At keyframe 3: the nodes are hidden again, and remain hidden through keyframe 4.
This setup is especially helpful for briefly introducing a molecular feature and then clearing it from view to reduce visual clutter. Rather than cluttering animations with overlays or fading effects that might look inconsistent across models, Flash provides a clean binary switch—on or off. This is especially useful in fast-paced scientific talks where clarity and timing are crucial.
How to Add a Flash Animation
To apply the Flash effect in SAMSON:
- Select the nodes you want to control.
- In the Animation panel of the Animator, double-click on the Flash animation effect.
- Adjust the timing of keyframes to synchronize with your desired animation flow.
And don’t worry—keyframes are fully adjustable, so you can fine-tune your animation even after committing to a Flash effect.
Fine-tuning with Easing Curves
SAMSON allows interpolation tuning using Easing curves. While it may seem unnecessary in a binary visibility transition, easing curves can control the presence of the animation effect itself—how fast the transition feels between key states. This may be subtle but useful when synced with narration or other dynamic events.
Use Case Tip
If you are presenting a molecular interaction and don’t want to distract viewers with everything appearing at once, you can time the Flash effect to show specific atoms or binding sites just as you mention them. Then they quietly disappear, allowing attention to flow to the next part. It’s a simple but effective usability trick.
To learn more about the Flash animation effect, visit the full documentation page: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/flash/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.