When analyzing molecular motion, one common frustration is losing sight of the atoms you’re most interested in. Whether you’re studying protein folding, ligand binding, or complex conformational changes, it’s easy for the action to drift out of view when the camera remains static during an animation.
This is where SAMSON’s Look at atoms animation effect can provide a simple but powerful solution. It allows you to keep your camera focused on selected atoms, even if the atoms themselves move considerably during the course of an animation. Unlike a traditional camera movement where position and angle change simultaneously, this effect keeps the camera position fixed, and only moves the target point to track the geometric center of the selected atoms.
Why This Helps
Imagine you’ve selected a small ligand binding to a flexible protein. As the protein shifts, the ligand might move out of view — unless you’re constantly rotating and zooming manually. With the Look at atoms animation, your camera automatically keeps looking at that ligand throughout the animation, so you can observe its behavior clearly without additional adjustments.
How to Use Look at Atoms
- Select the atoms whose motion you want to follow. You can use SAMSON’s selection tools to pick specific atoms, residues, or groups.
- Orient the camera exactly the way you want to view the scene. This sets the fixed position the camera will maintain.
- Go to the Animator’s Track view and choose the animation’s start frame.
- In the Animation panel, double-click on the Look at atoms effect.
- Set your end frame. Between the start and end frames, the camera will adjust its target point to match the geometric center of the selected atoms.
Tips and Adjustments
- You can freely move start and end frames in the timeline to fine-tune when the camera begins and stops tracking the atoms.
- If the grid is turned on, and the “Keep camera upwards” option is enabled, the camera orientation may be affected based on the global up direction — something to keep in mind when trying to obtain a stable view.
- If needed, inspect the animation to apply it to a different camera or modify options like grid dependence and camera orientation constraints.
This effect works particularly well when combined with trajectory animations. You can play back a full simulation trajectory while keeping your view centered on a specific region — like watching a key part of your system through a steady lens.
For more information and additional camera animation options, visit the official documentation page for Look at atoms.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.