From: Tyler Smith (tylersmith2_at_mail.usf.edu)
Date: Fri Jan 03 2014 - 14:19:36 CST

Hi All,
     I'm attempting to create a movie in vmd that shows how the local
crystallization of a system of polymers evolves with time during quenching.
 A metric for local crystallization called the CCE norm was used to assign
every monomer in the system a crystalline structure ( HCP, FCC, fivefold,
unordered). Psf files were used to convey information about the
crystalline structure using dummy variables; for example, all monomers with
mass < .2 correspond to monomers with FCC ordering and are colored red.
 Every psf file gives local crystalline structure for one timestep in the
quench, so in order to create a movie of evolving crystalline structure a
new pair of psf and pdb files needs to be loaded in for every frame. As
far as i know vmd can't internally create movies with multiple psf files,
so I decided to render a series of bitmap images using vmd and then string
them together using another program.

     A c++ program was used to create a long .tcl script that loads in the
pdb and modified psf, colors the monomers accordingly, renders an image and
then repeats for the next pair of files. This process worked well using
the snapshot renderer, but I would prefer to generate higher quality images
using Tachyon Internal. When the Tachyon Internal renderer is employed
images are rendered but they are not colored correctly.

  Does anyone have any ideas as to why snapshot works and TachyonInternal
doesn't? I'll attach the c++ scripts used to generate the .tcl scripts

     Also if there is an easier way to create movies with multiple psf
files and custom coloring please let me know.

Thanks,

Tyler