Creating effective molecular presentations is a key part of communicating complex scientific ideas—whether you’re showing binding interactions, illustrating a reaction mechanism, or walking through dynamic conformational changes. However, transitions between animation segments can feel abrupt or visually inconsistent without control over the scene backdrop.
This is where the Set background animation in SAMSON comes in. Used correctly, it helps you guide viewers with smooth visual transitions, making your story easier to follow without risking visual overload. Here’s how it works and how it can help you deliver cleaner, more compelling scientific presentations.
Why background transitions matter
Suppose you’re preparing an animation showing different aspects of a biomolecular system—perhaps docking, trajectory analysis, or site-specific interactions. Each logical section may call for different visual emphasis, such as high contrast backgrounds, corporate-branded slides, or image-based diagrams.
Rather than switching backgrounds abruptly, SAMSON’s Set background animation allows you to plan transitions between backgrounds across frames. The result is visually smoother and helps maintain audience focus.
How it works
To add a background transition:
- Open the Animation panel inside the Animator.
- Double-click on Set background to insert it at the current frame.
- Use the Inspector to select the desired background color or image. You can choose between Contain (preserve full image size) or Cover (allow cropping to fill screen).
- Adjust keyframes as needed to match your narrative structure. You can always move keyframes later.
The animation uses two keyframes:
- Keyframe 1: sets the specified background
- Keyframe 2: when followed by another Set background animation, triggers interpolation between backgrounds
In other words, you don’t have to create complex sequences manually—SAMSON interpolates the transition between two defined backgrounds for you. The transition uses an easing curve that you can adjust based on how fast or slow you want the transition to feel.
What this means in practice
Let’s say your animation begins with a dark background to highlight protein surfaces but later shifts to a light background to clearly show a ligand’s binding pose with outlined chemical structures. Using the Set background transition between keyframes ensures the viewer’s eyes are eased into this shift without being distracted by abrupt changes.
You can also sequence multiple backgrounds with varying timings to align with narration or user interaction. The result is a more polished, structured presentation—closer to professional molecular storytelling than slideshow hopping.
To fine-tune how backgrounds transition, open the Inspector panel and adjust the easing curve. This allows more control over speed and feel, such as ease-in, ease-out, or linear transitions.
To learn more about this feature, check the original documentation page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.