Visualizing molecular motion is essential for understanding a system’s behavior, especially when studying localized changes or tracking specific atoms within a simulation. However, one of the most common challenges when reviewing trajectories is keeping the selected atoms centered in view. If you’ve ever found yourself constantly adjusting the camera just to follow a single molecule or segment across frames, SAMSON’s Follow atoms animation can save you time and improve clarity.
Let’s say you’re working with a long molecular dynamics trajectory. You’re interested in a functional group or ion that moves significantly during the simulation. Normally, you’d either manually follow it or lose sight of the atom as the rest of the system moves. That’s tedious—and unnecessary. With the Follow atoms animation, the camera will automatically follow the chosen atoms as they move, keeping them centered in the view.
When you create a Follow atoms animation, SAMSON adjusts the camera’s target and position frame by frame, in sync with the geometric center of the selected atoms. The key advantage? It keeps a constant distance between the camera and atoms. The result is a smooth, stable animation where motion is viewed from a consistent perspective relative to your atoms of interest.
How to create a Follow Atoms animation step-by-step
- Select the atoms you want the camera to follow. You can do this using any selection tool that’s most convenient for your system.
- Orient the camera to your desired initial viewpoint using regular navigation.
- In the Animator’s Track View, choose the desired start frame.
- Double-click on Follow atoms in the Animation panel.
- Set the desired end frame.
The animation engine will use the current camera position for the start frame, then determine the new position for the end frame based on how the selected atoms move. The camera will follow the motion of the geometric center of those atoms, resulting in a smooth transition where the camera’s distance and direction relative to the atoms remains constant.
Tip: Use the animation controller to manually adjust your camera position if needed. The target will stay locked to the geometric center of your selected atoms, allowing fine tuning of the camera movement while preserving the tracking effect.
Options and considerations
By default, the animation affects the active camera. But you can change this by inspecting the animation and turning off the “Apply to active camera” option.
Keep Camera Upwards: This setting ensures the camera maintains an upright orientation with respect to the grid. If uniform vertical orientation is important in your analysis or presentation, turning this option on will help avoid unwanted camera tilting.
Animations like these are particularly useful if you’re preparing a presentation or compiling frames into a video to explain specific atomistic processes to a wider audience. It keeps the viewpoint consistent and focused exactly where it needs to be—on the atoms you’re studying.
To learn more about this animation effect and its settings, visit the official documentation page: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/follow-atoms/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.