Molecular animations are a powerful way to communicate structure, dynamics, and key insights. But when generating camera motion for presentations or videos, there’s a common challenge: how to zoom into a region of interest without accidentally shifting the visual focus.
This is especially important when using visual effects like depth-of-field or fog, which rely on a fixed focal point to stay visually consistent. If the camera target changes while zooming, these effects may appear to “drift,” pulling attention away from the key molecular feature. So how do you zoom in without changing your focus point?
What is the Zoom Camera Animation?
The Zoom camera animation in SAMSON solves exactly this problem. Unlike the Dolly camera animation, which allows both camera position and target point to change, the Zoom camera only modifies the camera’s position. The target point (usually centered on the area of interest) stays the same throughout the animation.
This makes it ideal for creating seamless push-ins toward a region — like an active site, a binding pocket, or a key interaction — without shifting what the viewer is looking at.
How to Add a Zoom Camera Animation
Here’s a step-by-step to get the effect in SAMSON:
- In the Animator Track view, select the start frame and orient your camera as needed.
- Open the Animation Panel and double-click the Zoom camera effect.
- Set your end frame and define the new zoomed-in camera position (you’ll notice the center of view remains constant).
- Optionally tweak the Easing curve to interpolate camera movement smoothly.
When Should You Use It?
If you’ve ever experienced the problem of focus shifting (causing fog or blur to move unnaturally), this animation is a direct fix. Typical use cases include:
- Zooming into a reaction site while preserving depth-of-field consistency
- Maintaining focus on a ligand while approaching the binding site
- Producing explainer videos where distraction-free framing matters
Because the animation does not alter the target point, it avoids any changes in camera-facing effects. It also gives you tighter control over framing aesthetics, whether you’re aiming for educational clarity or cinematic flair.
Other Tips
Remember you can always inspect the animation to:
- Apply the zoom to a different camera
- Enable or disable the Keep camera upwards option (which affects how the grid influences motion)
Getting the “feel” right may take a few tweaks, especially with easing and start/end framing. But once you find the setup that works, you can reuse it across similar projects.
To learn more, visit the official documentation page on the Zoom camera animation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.