When running molecular dynamics or simulating binding events, one common frustration lies in losing track of what’s most important—the atoms or regions you’re examining. Camera movements can end up drifting, making it difficult to stay focused on key interactions or conformational changes.
The Look at atoms animation effect in SAMSON offers a simple, targeted solution to this issue. Instead of constantly reorienting the camera, this feature allows you to lock the camera’s attention to a set of atoms, while keeping the camera itself in a fixed position. The result? A continuous focus on what matters most in your trajectory, without jittery camera pans or unwanted zoom-versus-focus behavior.
Why keep the target in view?
In many simulation workflows, a molecule or complex of interest moves significantly while the overall camera position remains static. This can lead to the object of interest drifting offscreen. By using Look at atoms, you instruct the camera to keep tracking the geometric center of selected atoms while the simulation evolves.
This feature is particularly useful for:
- Monitoring ligand binding or unbinding events
- Studying conformational shifts in a specific protein domain
- Tracking key atoms in a catalytic site throughout a reaction pathway
How to use “Look at atoms”
Here are the basic steps to set it up:
- Select the atoms you want the camera to focus on. This could be a side chain, ligand, or any structural element you care about.
- Orient the camera to your preferred initial view.
- In the Animator, choose a start frame and then double-click the Look at atoms effect in the Animation panel.
- Set the end frame as needed. The focus will remain on the selected atoms between the two keyframes, tracking their geometric center.
Note that the camera position does not move—only the target point updates. This means the perspective remains stable, providing a smooth and clear view of molecular changes.
Tips for customizing behavior
You can fine-tune this effect through different properties. For example:
- Apply to active camera: This is the default, but you can assign this to other cameras if needed by inspecting the animation.
- Keep camera upwards: Determines whether the ‘up’ direction stays aligned with the grid, if it’s turned on.
You can also still make manual adjustments to the camera position using animation controllers, while the camera continues to follow the atoms. This is helpful when combining multiple animation effects or layering different camera behaviors.
If you often find yourself manually trying to follow a moving ligand or protein loop, this one-click feature can make your workflow much more efficient.
To learn more about using the Look at atoms animation in SAMSON, visit the original documentation page here.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.