When creating animations in molecular modeling, one common frustration is unintended shifts in camera perspective. You carefully orient your structure, press play, and suddenly the molecule jumps or drifts—especially if you’ve been editing frames or adding content. This happens because the camera view may change across frames unless it’s explicitly held static. For those aiming to create polished molecular movies or presentations, this can break visual continuity and clarity.
This is where the Hold camera animation in SAMSON becomes incredibly helpful. It allows modelers to freeze the camera parameters between frames to preserve a consistent view. Let’s explore how you can use this feature effectively to ensure your molecular scenes stay visually coherent.
Why Hold the Camera?
Animations often combine structure movements, conformational changes, or dynamics – but not every scene requires the camera to move. In fact, if the camera unintentionally changes when it’s not explicitly animated, it can confuse viewers and disrupt the focus on the actual molecular changes.
By inserting a Hold camera effect across selected frames, you can ensure a static viewpoint. This is especially useful in the following cases:
- You want to maintain a fixed orientation while a structure transforms.
- You’re stitching together several animation effects but don’t want view inconsistencies.
- You need focused close-ups of one part of a molecule over time.
How to Use the Hold Camera Effect in SAMSON
The workflow is simple and quick:
- Start by choosing the start frame in the Animator’s Track view.
- Next, orient the camera to the desired view. This involves using SAMSON’s navigation tools to rotate, pan, and zoom until you’re happy with the framing.
- Then, double-click the Hold camera effect in the Animation panel.
- Finally, define the end frame of the effect by dragging its borders, or use manual entry.
Once applied, the camera remains fixed at that position for the duration of the effect—even if you make other changes elsewhere.
Note that even though older tutorials might reference the now-removed “Animation” menu, all animation effects—such as Hold camera—are accessible via the Animation panel in the Animator interface. You can also quickly open the Animator using Ctrl + 7 (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + 7 (macOS).
Tips for Better Results
- Use Hold camera as a spacer between camera motion effects like Move camera to ensure clean transitions.
- Double-check the framing during preview before rendering the final animation.
- Use consistent lighting and rendering settings to avoid jarring frame-to-frame discrepancies.
Professional-looking molecular movies aren’t just about molecular motion—they’re also about keeping the viewer oriented. By strategically placing Hold camera effects, you can maintain visual clarity, emphasize molecular events without distraction, and improve the overall impact of your animations.
To learn more about the Hold camera animation, visit the official documentation page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.