It’s one of the most common struggles when creating a molecular animation: how to smoothly zoom into a specific part of a complex molecular system. Whether you’re preparing a presentation, an educational video, or just trying to understand your structure better, navigating the camera in a clear, intentional way can be time-consuming and imprecise.
If you’ve ever battled with jerky camera movements, restricted zoom behavior, or fixed target points, then the Dolly camera animation in SAMSON may be what you need.
Why Not Just Use Zoom?
There’s already a Zoom camera animation in SAMSON, but it comes with a limitation: it has a fixed target point. That means you can zoom in, but you’re always zooming into the same spot from different distances. If your goal is to change not just the distance but also the target—to move the viewer’s eye toward a different part of the molecule—then the Dolly camera animation can help.
Controlling Position and Target Point
The Dolly camera effect changes both the camera’s position and its target point over time. This means you can guide the viewer’s attention not just by getting closer but by also shifting the viewer’s focus area. This can be especially useful when zooming toward binding sites, channels, or other key regions in large biomolecular systems. It’s also helpful for enhancing visual effects like depth-of-field or fog, which rely on accurate targeting.
How to Add the Dolly Camera Animation
Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Open the Animator and choose your start frame in the Track view.
- Adjust the view or camera manually, setting it where you’d like the animation to begin.
- Double-click on Dolly camera in the Animation panel.
- Select the animation’s end frame in the timeline and position the camera accordingly.
Tip: You can move both the start and end frames if you decide to stretch or shorten the duration of the effect later.
Customizing the Movement
The Dolly camera effect isn’t just about moving from point A to point B. You have full control over which camera is animated and how the motion feels. For example:
- By default, the effect applies to the currently active camera. To change this, inspect the animation and uncheck Apply to active camera.
- The way the camera interpolates between start and end positions can be fine-tuned with different easing curves.
- If the Keep camera upwards option is checked, the animation may behave differently depending on whether the grid is turned on or off. This can be useful for maintaining orientation in educational visuals.
Refining Camera Positions
After the animation is added, you can still fine-tune camera positions and target points using animation controllers in the Animator. This allows for flexibility and precision when setting up transitions and ensures that your focal region is always in view.
To learn more about the Dolly camera animation, visit the official SAMSON documentation page here: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/dolly-camera/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.