When presenting complex molecular structures—whether small molecules, protein-ligand assemblies, or massive nanostructures—clear visualization plays a lead role in how effectively the structure communicates its function or properties. Molecular modelers often need to produce animations that smoothly guide the viewer through these structures, and oftentimes simple rotation isn’t enough. A common challenge is how to move across a molecular system horizontally, giving the viewer the impression of gliding “side-to-side” across the molecule.
This is where the Truck camera animation in SAMSON comes in. It allows you to move both the camera’s position and target point in parallel, enabling a smooth horizontal pan—ideal for showcasing elongated molecules, exploring active sites in large proteins, or creating a guided visual scan of supramolecular architectures.
What the Truck Camera Does
Unlike rotating or zooming, the Truck camera shifts the viewpoint as if the camera is mounted on a dolly cart, sliding sideways across the scene. Technically, it interpolates both the position and the target of the active camera between two keyframes, applying the same horizontal displacement to both.
This style of motion is particularly useful when:
- You want to present a molecular pathway or channel from left to right.
- You’re creating a presentation that mimics a viewer’s eye moving laterally through a structure.
- You need a clean, linear scan across a 2D or pseudo-2D layer of molecules (e.g. in materials modeling).
How to Set Up the Truck Camera Animation
To create a Truck camera animation:
- Navigate to the Animator’s Track view and choose your start frame.
- Orient your view manually to define the initial position and direction.
- In the Animation panel, double-click the Truck camera effect. This records the current camera state.
- The end frame will automatically shift both the camera and its target to the right in screen space. You can then adjust how far and for how long the motion occurs.
Customizing Your Camera Moves
If needed, you can tweak the animation further:
- Change interpolation between frames using various Easing curves for smoother or more dynamic movement styles.
- Switch viewpoint: By default, animations apply to the active camera, but you can assign it to others by selecting a different target camera in the Inspector panel.
- Control vertical stability: The option Keep camera upwards influences the behavior depending on whether the grid is enabled. This can help ensure that the scene doesn’t roll unintentionally.
Finally, you can also manually adjust the final target and position using the animation controllers, although the Truck camera effect imposes some constraints to keep the movement strictly horizontal.
When to Use (and Not Use) Truck Camera
Use the Truck camera when you want clarity, control, and consistency in presenting horizontal views. It complements vertical movements (via the Pedestal camera) and offers a different flavor of movement compared to free-fly modes or orbiting around a structure. However, avoid it when the structure’s interesting features lie behind or around objects, which may require more complex or curved movements.
To learn more about the Truck camera effect and related options, visit the official documentation page: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/truck-camera/.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON here.