When creating molecular animations or presentations, clarity and continuity matter. It’s easy to overlook how changes in the camera view can disrupt the flow of a molecular video or compromise the viewer’s understanding. Have you ever looked back at an animation only to realize the camera has shifted unexpectedly between frames? This can happen if the view changes while working, and no camera animation constrains it. Fortunately, SAMSON provides a simple but effective fix: the Hold camera animation.
The Hold camera animation is designed for exactly this scenario. When you want your camera angle to remain fixed between two points in your animation—in other words, when you want a stable frame of reference—this feature ensures your molecular scene doesn’t drift or snap to a new position.
Why a fixed perspective matters
During integrative molecular design, especially in presentations or simulations, a consistent camera angle helps maintain visual coherence. Without a defined view, viewers can lose context between frames—even subtle changes can make it seem like the molecule is switching orientation.
Using the Hold camera animation, you can lock in a specific orientation so that the system appears static, even as surrounding events change. This is especially useful when mixing animated and static segments or composing presentations that combine multiple animations such as zoom, rotation, or pan at other points in time.
How to use it
Here’s how to apply the Hold camera animation in SAMSON:
- Open the Animator’s Track view and select the frame where you want the hold to begin.
- Manually orient the view using standard controls so it displays the system exactly as you want it.
- In the Animation panel of the Animator, double-click on the Hold camera animation effect.
- Define the end frame—how long you want the hold to last. This can be adjusted later if needed.
You’ll see that the camera remains fixed over your specified frame range. Even if you change views elsewhere in the animation, you now have explicit control over when those changes take place.
Note on interface updates
Previous versions of SAMSON used the Animation menu, but this interface has now been streamlined. Today, all camera animations, including Hold camera, are accessible from the Animator‘s panel. To quickly access the Animator window, you can use the default shortcut Ctrl + 7 (or Cmd + 7 on macOS).
Use cases and real examples
- You’re creating a multi-part animation where proteins bind, but want to hold the view steady for the docking phase before switching to a zoom-in during folding.
- You want to highlight changes in secondary structure over time without the distraction of unintentional camera movement.
- You’re making an educational video and need consistent labeling to stay aligned with the molecular geometry.
As you explore more animation types in SAMSON (such as Move camera), you’ll find that combining these intelligently improves both visual quality and communication clarity.
Learn more in the documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.