If you’ve ever struggled to give your molecular presentations more visual impact—or if your audience is tuning out due to lifeless, static shots—this tip is for you. Molecular design platforms like SAMSON offer tools built for clarity and storytelling. One of those tools is the Orbit camera animation, especially handy for smoothly showcasing a molecular structure from multiple angles.
Let’s say you’re presenting a complex assembly or a cage-like framework. Instead of rotating your molecule manually on video or relying on awkward transitions, you can use the Orbit camera animation to automatically create a smooth, centered rotation around a target point. This technique works particularly well for assemblies, symmetric structures, or supramolecular complexes where orientation matters.
Why Orbit Camera Animation Helps
The Orbit camera effect in SAMSON allows the camera to rotate around the object rather than just fly through space. This keeps your subject in the center of attention and makes it easier for viewers to understand the spatial configuration.
Here’s what the rotation looks like in action:
Setting It Up
Here’s how you can create your own orbit animation in SAMSON:
- First, orient your view or camera in the plane you’d like the camera to orbit around the molecule.
- Then, open the Animator and double-click on the Orbit camera effect in the Animation panel.
- Choose the desired end frame for the animation to control the duration.
Note: If you’re used to accessing animations from the old Animation menu, it’s now available directly inside the Animator’s Animation panel.
Control and Flexibility
The animation uses the active camera and revolves around its target point, which is typically the center of your current view. If you’re not getting the rotation plane you expect, it might be influenced by whether SAMSON’s grid is enabled:
- With the grid off, the orbit is centered through the horizontal midline of the screen and the target point.
- With the grid on, the orbit adapts to the grid plane. You can adjust the behavior by modifying the “Keep camera upwards” option.
Additionally, you can tweak how the camera moves between frames by editing the easing curve, allowing more natural acceleration and deceleration during the orbit.
Fine-Tuning the Shot
SAMSON provides specialized camera controllers for each camera animation. These controllers let you fine-tune the target point, camera orientation, and more. If you aren’t seeing them, you might need to zoom out in your viewport (Ctrl/Cmd + -).
While you adjust, thumbnails appear at the bottom of the viewport, helping you frame shots and get a quick preview of camera angles.
Examples to Explore
Check out these examples on SAMSON Connect that use orbit animations effectively:
Whether you’re teaching a class, preparing a publication, or just documenting your results, the Orbit camera lets you add clarity without the hassle of complex camera choreography.
To learn more about how to use the Orbit camera animation in SAMSON, visit the official documentation page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON from SAMSON Connect.