[Molvis-list] Molecular Movies

[timothy driscoll]

On 2005-06-08 (10:32) clare sansom wrote:

>Dear all,
>
>Apologies if this is a FAQ...
>
>I have been asked by some collaborators of mine, who are protein
>crystallographers, to advise about the best combination of software
>packages for the production of MPG (or similar) movies to show
>aspects of protein structure and function. I have tried several ways
>of doing this over the last few years, but I'm not particularly
>happy with any of them, and I would appreciate any advice from list
>members. I don't know what platforms they use, but I imagine that
>they will have access to at least Linux and Windows, and probably
>SGI as well.
>

hi Clare,


you might want to check out Jmol:

<http://www.jmol.org/>

true, Jmol is not a 'movie making' application at heart.  it does not have all of the true 'movie-making' tools that you might find in more dedicated software (like Lightwave).  but the added value of Jmol is that you retain the ability to interact with the 3D structure at all times.  and Jmol commands like 'moveTo' make scripting animations fairly straightfoward.

Jmol is open source, free, and cross-platform. it ships as a Web browser applet and a stand-alone app.  it supports various file formats, including XYZ (since you mention animations), and has an active support and development community.


regards,

tim
-- 
Timothy Driscoll
molvisions - see, grasp, learn.
<http://www.molvisions.com/>
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"Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one." - Malcolm S. Forbes