Even the free programs, plan on two years to get up to speed.

Particle Illusions might be handy, and easier learning curve.

Rather than facing a (potentially very steep) learning curve, take a look at the various packages such as Jump Backs, Swipes, Editor's Tool Kit, etc. from Digital Juice.
With all the various sales they've had lately, it's easy to accumulate a large collection for a reasonable price.
Check out the DJ showcase for examples of how others have used the various products.

Mike

Thanks guys...and thanks Mike, great suggestion.

I had the same idea. placing some animations in weddings and DVD photo albums. I have poser, Veu, Silo and 3dpaint. These guys are right on about the learning curve. Been at it for 8 months and believe me, I just started. Worst thing is one software leads to an other. Then another or you buy what you want already finished as far as extras go or learn to make them youself. You need an a lot of time invoved here (Render time can be huge) . Plus even computer up grades to speed things up. I'll be honest, I do enjoy it. Something simple like Boom Toon would work well. If your still interested in 3D please talk to someone before you buy. You can sink a lot funds ($150 to $1000) into it before you find what you want. By all means try the trial version first and you'll see what your up agasnt. fishbelt

If you are interested in a great animation program that doesn't cost mega bucks, you should take a look at Animation:Master www.hash.com.

It is a full featured animation program that costs $399 USD and is pretty easy to use. And with camera tracking software like Icarus, you can integrate your animations into your moving video. You can also save your animations out as individual images using an alpha channel that you can then overlay your video in Vegas. You can also import your videos into Animation:Master and play around with it there!

The possibilities are endless....

Al

Depends on what you want to spice up. Particle "sparks" are kind of neat if you
are handwriting "Our Wedding". I would not get too cutesy with your animations.

I personally am working on more artistic use of mists and other technics as you are
selling a product that is for the bride to enjoy in 30 years when she does not feel as
"pretty" when she first married.

I like Caligari TrueSpace and you can get Version 6 for free. It does take a
while to learn and my two favorite uses are chrome or glass lettering and
virtual sets.

I second the suggestion earlier concerning Digital Juice products. I just started with "juice" products earlier this year and already have over 30 volumes (thanks to the great daily deals they offer). They have stuff for almost any occasion and several products specifically for wedding videos.

There is an open source 3D app called Blender. They have ported it to swindols and it's free.

http://www.blender.org/