Following dynamic molecular events—like ligand binding or conformational changes—can be insightful, but it often comes with a common frustration: losing track of your region of interest when the scene changes throughout the animation. Molecular modelers know this pain too well. You set up your scene, begin animating, and then realize mid-way that the atoms you wanted to observe have drifted off-screen. In SAMSON, there’s a feature designed precisely to eliminate this issue: the Follow atoms animation effect.
This animation option allows the camera to maintain a constant view on selected atoms over time by dynamically adjusting both its target and position. It’s especially valuable if you need to present or analyze a trajectory without constantly repositioning the camera manually.
Why follow atoms?
Imagine you’re simulating a protein-ligand interaction. As the ligand migrates through a channel or binding site, your camera can smoothly follow its path, allowing you to clearly visualize key interactions as they evolve. You avoid jump cuts, disorienting camera shifts, or having to reset your view frame by frame.
Setting it up in SAMSON
Here’s a step-by-step workflow for applying the Follow atoms camera animation:
- Select atoms: First, choose the atoms you want the camera to follow. These can be any atoms in your system: a ligand, a side chain, even a moving domain.
- Position your camera: Orient the scene to define your preferred initial perspective.
- Insert the animation:
- Go to the Animator workspace.
- Choose a start frame in the Animator’s Track view.
- Double-click on Follow atoms in the Animation panel.
- Set the end frame: Define when the animation should stop. Between these frames, the camera will continuously track the movement of the selected atoms.
The result: the camera keeps a constant vector to the geometric center of the targeted atom group. Even complex or subtle motions remain under observation without needing manual tracking.
Fine-tuning the animation
The Follow atoms effect is designed to be adaptable. For example, if you prefer to apply the animation to a different camera (not the active one), you can inspect the animation and uncheck the Apply to active camera option. Similarly, if you want to control how the camera behaves relative to the grid (upward or not), the Keep camera upwards setting lets you adjust this behavior.
Need to tweak the camera’s start or end positions after applying the animation? That’s possible, too. You can reposition the camera manually using animation controllers. The target (i.e., the group of moving atoms) will remain locked, so any adjustments will orbit around that central movement.
Whether you’re presenting your findings or analyzing movement patterns more deeply, Follow atoms gives you a way to keep molecular dynamics within frame. It allows for a clearer story, a more coherent visualization, and less frustration.
To learn more, 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.