Compositing Software Descision
 

I am going to be making some software purchases pretty soon. I am editing a short film and need some software to help FCP through the ordeal. I already know I'm going to get DVD SP 2 and Nuendo 2, but I'm not sure which compositor to get.

I am a student, so the prices for me are as follows:

Commotion 4.1 $250
Combustion 2 $280
After Effects 6 $350

I am familiar with the interface for Shake and I have a bit of experience with combustion. What is the most powerful of the three, and are there any other titles worth looking in to? There is a chance that I can get Commotion Pro for free, but I don't want to try that unless I'm sure that it's what I want.

I also would like to know if After Effects uses a USB dongle for authentication. It's not a huge issue, but if I can, I'd rather have the port free.

Well I have never had a program that has used a dongle. That just sounds old school. Anyways, I have been using After Effects as my main compositor and have always enjoyed what it can do.
I have used the other two on and off. It seems that I would have to use each program for something different. I went to a presentation with commotion and After Effects and they were trying to make them a packaged deal. Like they said "there are somethings done easier in other programs." I would have to agree with that. You should really decided what you need first then you can dive into what program will fit your project.
If you can I would at least try out the program yourself or see if you can get someone to demo it for you.
All those programs are amazing in their own right.

Rob:D

We have all three at work. I've spent most of my time on Shake, and the shake interface has a lot of similarities to the combustion interface. I find the combustion interface to be much more intuitive when it comes to actually dealing with effects, but it has its issues. It is pretty fussy with anamorphic video in my experience. I have trouble with the AE and Commotion interfaces and I find myself tending to avoid them.

It's just what you get used to. I've been using AE for years (in the early days it did require a dongle, but no more). As FCP has added features in compositing I've had to use AE less and less, but that's partially the nature of my projects.

I've only used Commotion, so I can't compare it to others, but it is very capable. The extra features in Commotion Pro would be very nice to have. If you can get it for free (legally) then why not do so, what do you have to lose?
If you then decide you don't like it, you can send it to me. ;-)

If I were talking about stealing commotion then I'd probably have just as easy a time stealing the others. But I don't roll like that.

Benjamin,
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything unorthodox. I forgot to put the smiley in the right place. But if you can get it for free, then really what's there to lose? It's a good program.

It's between Commotion and Nuendo, and I would really ove owning Nuendo, so if Commotion isn't the app for the job I will get Nuendo.

I'm an old school AfterEffects user (since it was a CoSA product). I have never found a more intuitive interface on any program. But that just might be that my brain is now hard-wired for AE.

AE is also one of the most flexible programs I know of. From very advanced color correction to keying to roto and paint to filters, effects and text, AE will do it all. If you can imagine it, there's a good chance you can pull it off using AE. There's also the option for you to choose from a stunning array of 3rd-party add-ons. Now that AE includes a robust 3D component, There's not much more the program can't do.

The only caveat to AE is that it's a processor and memory hog. AE6 recommends a multiprocessor G4 and 256MBRam. I would even recommend 512. It's not that it won't work with less, it's just that things like screen draws will take longer and the program will get very bogged-down feeling.

Also, check Adobe's site for the differences between the Standard and Pro (formerly Production Bundle) versions. Do you need the Pro features like motion tracking and advanced keying? Can you get student pricing on the Pro version?

You said you "need some software to help FCP through the ordeal". Could you be specific on what types of functions are most important to you in a compositing program?