Molecular modelers know that maintaining a consistent and precise view of a molecular system can be a challenge, especially when creating animations or presenting a complex model to an audience. While working with molecular systems in dynamic environments, slight, unintended shifts in the camera’s perspective can occur. This is where the Hold Camera feature in SAMSON comes to the rescue.
Why Use the Hold Camera Animation?
Imagine you’re preparing a presentation, fine-tuning an animation, or working on a detailed molecular design. Any unexpected change in the camera view could disrupt the consistency of your project. For example, even slight movements of the camera while switching between different views might create an unprofessional final presentation or lead to distractions in your workflow.
The Hold Camera animation allows you to lock the camera parameters between two frames in your animation timeline. This ensures your perspective remains consistent and static, regardless of other actions performed in the workspace. This is particularly helpful when you do not require dynamic camera animations for certain frames but want to maintain a clean and defined perspective of your molecular system.
How to Add and Use the Hold Camera Animation
Adding the Hold Camera animation to your project is simple and intuitive:
- Navigate to the Animator’s Track View within SAMSON.
- Choose the starting frame for your animation and adjust the camera view and orientation to the desired position.
- Open the Animation Panel in the Animator interface and double-click on the Hold Camera animation effect.
- Define the end frame for the animation to set the duration during which the camera remains fixed.
You can easily adjust the start and end frames to refine the static camera’s timing or reposition the animation effect for new scenes. This flexibility allows you to fine-tune your view and integrate it seamlessly into complex animations.
Tip
Although SAMSON no longer includes the old Animation menu, you can find all animations, including Hold Camera, in the updated Animation Panel within the Animator interface.
An Example in Action
Take a look at how the Hold Camera animation works:
In this example, you can see that the camera view remains fixed even as changes occur in the molecular system or as other animations are applied. This solves a common pain point of unintended shifts in perspective that often occur during workflows or presentations.
Conclusion
The Hold Camera animation is an elegant and straightforward solution for anyone who needs precision and consistency in their molecular model presentations or projects. Whether you’re creating animations for scientific communication, educational content, or internal reviews, this tool ensures your view stays stable and your work appears polished and professional.
To explore more about the Hold Camera animation, visit the official documentation page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.