Not true. Vegas in fact has very powerful compositing features (among other items) -- including 3D parenting, etc. Yes, no motion program, but contrast that with its superior audio handling, its ability to ingest almost any format, ease of use and ergonomics -- not to mention its superb handling of Sony formats -- and I'd say Vegas is very much a 'serious' NLE.

Regarding FInal Cut, etc: only a very short while ago, ANYTHING other than Avid was of course a toy ;-)

hey James,
Yes, Vegas does have its pros, those you listed are but a few IMO.
No one loves Vegas more than me, but, you cant compare its toolset to AFX or Motion or Combustion.
Its FX, Lens flare for example, can positively cheapen an otherwise great bit of footage.
Its 3d Parenting is not 3d accurate,
do 3 layers of text at 3 different Z depths,
keyframe a parented pan from left to right, the 3d view is not right.
Anyway, I hate ragging on Vegas because I seriously believe as an editing program Ive never seen anything as intuitive or easy to GET THINGS DONE....fast.
All im saying is that it is crying out for a Sony version of After Effects to compliment it, and Im hoping Ill live to see it happen.
cheers.

I would never compare Vegas to After Effects, Combustion or Motion because they are not the same tools. Vegas is an NLE. The others are very robust dedicated effects/compositing/motion graphics tools. Apples and oranges in my opinion.

Each application or NLE has its unique set of strengths and shortcomings. I Just use the right tool for the right job

For whatever it's worth, I just completed a project with HEAVY 3D parenting (5+ layers) and found it absolutely spot on. Not exactly like a camera track in AF, but very capable none the less --- depending on the project.

So just out of interest then James,
Would you like to see a motion graphics software to compliment Vegas, or are you reasonably happy to keep going between programs ( Vegas to AFX and back ) to use the right tool for the job.
On the other hand, if Sony did implement a new program how confident would they be that people already using AFX would learn a new system. Dont know.
I would, just for the ease of jumping back and forth.
I can dream.....

I cannot imagine Sony creating such a program. Unless I'm mistaken, Vegas is a tool used primarily by event videographers, a few documentarians, etc., and it just wouldn't seem to be justified considering the customer base. The expense of creating a motion graphics program from scratch and implementing it would not, on the surface, seem to make sense, but what do I know?

Would it be nice? Of course. You are right in that it would certainly elevate the Vegas game. On the other hand, I look at the unchanging face of DVDA and it's cheesy templates, and cannot imagine a world where the same company would design a motion graphics program to complement it. Great programs, and they do what they do very well. I think that is how it will stay, but who knows?

While Vegas won't allow you to do all the things After Effects does, I find myself leaving Vegas less and less for compositing and, like James, I often do quite heavy compositing projects.

Rather than expect Sony to develop a full blown AE/Motion competitor, why not ask them to integrate better with those apps, so that you can achieve the same 'click and swap on the timeline' you mentioned earlier? I'd prefer that as it also protects my investment in AE. I would have thought that to be a much more likely development.

Agreed, that would be the best of both worlds, I can already use AFX so why learn something new.
As for having to leave Vegas, I too admit that I leave it less now than I did a year ago, but
when it comes to motion tracking, 3d text, shattering things, camera tracks and generating objects etc,
unless you guys know some cool stuff that I dont, I head for AFX every time.
On that note, maybe a new thread would be good,
Whats the coolest, most out there FX or combination there of, tutorial for Vegas, things that average people would use After FX for but talented people can do in VEGAS.
Now if I can only work out how to make that a short heading......
:)

How about "Done exclusively in Vegas - no AE required"?
If anyone posts examples, an attached veg file would be a nice treat.

perfect. Done.

With Vegas Pro 10, you get a brand new plugin API based on an open standard. Boris has already mentioned updating it's plugin for Vegas to better integrate using this new plugin API. If Boris follows through, you'll have available a full compositing program directly integrated on the Vegas timeline.

For some of the other plugin manufacturers, if you like their products, ask them to release an OpenFX version for Vegas Pro 10. For those that already have OFX plugins, it may be very little work to also support Vegas. It never hurts to ask them.

Just thought I'd post this for anyone whos interested.
I found the answer to the original question,
The effect is generated by the Lomo lens.
It is Very cool.
Just have to keep saving for that RED camera.

I don't think that they actually wanted that flare - just testing to see how bad it can be with an anamorphic lens :-)

I don't know, looking at the rest of the videos, I definitely think they were testing out how cool they could make it look.

And Gerald, after the RED, go ahead and keep on saving for the lens(es), probably cost half of what the camera cost... =)