When creating molecular animations, whether for research presentations, lectures, or peer-reviewed supplementary material, timing is everything. Some frames pass too quickly for the eye—or the brain—to absorb, especially when complex molecular interactions transform in a split second.
If you’ve ever wished your audience had more time to take in a crucial transition or structural feature, the Pause animation in SAMSON might be the exact tool you need. With this feature, you can freeze a single frame for a specified duration, making it easier to highlight important molecular configurations or sequences of interest.
What Is the Pause Animation?
The Pause animation is a built-in effect in SAMSON that temporarily halts the timeline at a given keyframe. You choose how long the frame will be shown before the animation resumes. This gives your audience time to observe complex molecular details—like bond rearrangements, docking events, or conformational changes—without missing them.
Adding the Pause Effect
In the Animation panel of the Animator, simply double-click the Pause animation effect. A keyframe is automatically inserted at your current frame position. From there, you can drag it to your desired frame if you need to fine-tune its placement.
Tip
You can always move keyframes after placing them, giving you flexibility as your animation evolves.
Setting the Duration
Once your pause keyframe is in place, select it in the Document view, then go to the Inspector. Here, you can define how many seconds the pause should last.
Maybe you want a 2-second pause to let viewers examine a ligand unbinding event. Or maybe a longer 5-second pause is needed to focus attention on two proteins as they approach each other. It’s entirely up to you.
Why It Matters
In fast-paced molecular animations, details are often easily missed. The Pause function allows you to guide your audience, helping them focus on the science rather than struggle to keep up. It’s particularly useful when showcasing phenomena like folding, reaction intermediates, or docking mechanisms. For educators, this tool also supports better learning: students get the visual space to connect structure and function.
If your goal is to communicate your molecular story clearly, pausing might just be the most powerful effect.
To learn more about how to use the Pause animation in SAMSON, visit this documentation page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.