When you’re creating a molecular animation in SAMSON, one challenge that can arise—often unexpectedly—is an unwanted change in camera perspective. You might spend a significant amount of time setting up a precise camera orientation for a particular frame, only to later discover that the view has shifted when you play back your animation. This can lead to inconsistencies and confusion, especially when presenting data or preparing an educational sequence.
This problem typically occurs when your animation includes modifications to the molecular model across different frames without explicitly locking the camera. Any subsequent movement in the scene—even accidental—can cause SAMSON to update the view, leading to inconsistencies between frames that should have the same perspective.
The good news? There’s a simple solution: the Hold camera animation effect built into SAMSON.
What does Hold camera do?
The Hold camera animation lets you freeze the camera parameters—position, orientation, zoom level—between two frames. By doing this, you ensure that even if you change the scene or perform operations later on, the viewer perspective remains the same for the duration of those frames.
That means more consistent animations, fewer surprises in your final renders, and a smoother communication of your modeling results.
How to use Hold camera in your animations
- In the Animator’s Track view, select the start frame where you want the camera to hold steady.
- Orient your camera as needed—zoom in, rotate, or position your system exactly as you wish it to appear.
- In the Animation panel, double-click on the Hold camera effect to insert it into the timeline.
- Set the end frame—the range during which the camera should remain fixed.
You can always adjust the start and end frames if needed. This is especially useful for animations that transition between multiple states of a molecular model and where you want to focus attention on what’s changing rather than distract with unnecessary motion.
Tip: Use Hold camera early in the process
If you know you’re setting up a specific view to highlight a particular conformational change, define the Hold camera effect early in your animation timeline. This protects your camera position from unintended updates as you continue to build out the animation.
When NOT to use it
If you’re actively creating dynamic fly-throughs or rotations of your molecule, this effect isn’t necessary. In those cases, use Move camera instead to define smooth transitions between views.
Learning to strategically use Hold camera will help you create clearer, more focused animations that are truly reflective of your modeling intentions.
Learn more in the SAMSON documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.