Combustion isn't like either one, but if it's anything, it's closer to AE on steroids. Some things in Combustion can be done in Cool 3D, but not many. Cool 3D is a great starting point for 3D work, AE is a fair start for compositing, excepting that Vegas does 90% of what AE does. Combustion is the best of the lot for compositing, and it does have some limited 3D stuff available too. It runs great on a standard PC.
BTW, with a Parhelia card, AE is every bit as fast as Combustion. Just fewer features. And much harder to learn.

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Give me more $$

I prefer Boris Red myself.

Red, AE, and Cool 3D are completely different than Combustion. All 3 are great products in their class, but Combustion is in a totally different class.

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"Give me more $$"

LOL!! Nearly fell off my chair on that one!

Spot, you give so much helpful advice, that we tend to forget there's a thin line between you trying to help out and the fact that you're a business man who doesn't go into indepth details for free. I know I've been guilty of asking you for maybe more info than I should have. For everything you offer though, I thank you sir!

M

Given that at least two of what your talking about have free demo versions available perhaps you you could expend some of your time (read money) doing your own investigation?

Perhaps then you'd care to write a an unpaid several page review for us all to read.

Or you could as no doubt several people here have done, bought all of the above and learnt the hard way.

If there's one lesson I've learn't in the last few days it's how valuable what I know is, I made the BIG mistake of giving free advise to a client and just did myself out of about $5K.

Combustion and AE are both "motion graphics and effects" programs I know I bought Combustion3 several months ago. AE is kind of the more known of all Compositing apps but Combustion is more powerful in my opinion. This program has so many features I haven't even scratched the surface I am still in the early, early learning stages. I bought Kenneth LaRue's training DVD's and I blown away with what I have been able to do watching the training video project's only problem is remembering how I did it watching him ,-) The interface is very streamlined but that is what get's confusing for me is twirling down the interface to get to what I need but it is way better than the somewhat cumbersome interface of AE.

It is not a 3d modeling applicaton (that's what Discreet's 3DS Max is for) but it does do 3d space .ie 3d camera moves, depth of field also it will import 3Ds workspaces and models as well as other 3D apps workspaces. Unfortunatley it does not do 3D text. Though I don't think AE does either could be wrong. Combusion is really awesome just be prepare for a long learning curve but it's really worth it if you do cause it shares allmost the same interface and some technology of it's bigger brothers like Flame and Inferno systems so if you know C* then your a heads up on these major effects powerhouses that many big production houses use in Hollywoo$

Combustion is the most powerful of the 3 by far, but it's also got a stiff learning curve. It's also more expensive, but doesn't need as many plugins. That alone is worth the value. It's used by far more for broadcast than AE is, although AE is becoming more and more used every day. AE is clunky, IMO, but it can accomplish some great stuff with all the plugs available.
Cool 3D does some awesome work for what it is, very easy to learn, and very easy to create serious 3D graphics with. We recently ran a Sundance contest for the best Cool3D project, and some of the ones that came in were awesome. Some were lame. There is one for a Dodge Ram dealership that is frickin' amazing. Brilliantly done. You can get it free at http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/help/kb There is a free trial version of Cool 3D as well. For doing NFL style 3D work, or for doing great 3D titles, Cool 3D is great. For animating people, it's not the right tool. Nor is combustion or AE. Between Cool 3D and Vegas, you'll be VERY hard pressed to find much in either Combustion or AE that you can't do with the Vegas combo. But, it's additional workflow, and requires some additional thought.
Zippy, I asked for more $$ because it seems like you start out serious, and then waste everyone's time with foolishness. Sorta get tired of your roller coaster, ya know what I mean? I'm happy to help out, but it gets tiring with the up and down stuff. A "please" at the end of the "Gimme" would be nice once in a while too. And I'll bet everyone here would appreciate a 'thank you' sometimes?

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I've used combustion for about a yaer now, and I'm still a newbie (yes, it has that many features). A Combustion professional said at a media convention that you can use combsution for years and still not use half of its features.

Zippy is a sponge, ungrateful. Look through zips posts, they are only complaints or questions. Reminds me of Kat from the Canopus forums.

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http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/help/kb/kb_download.asp?id=302

There you go Zippy

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. Zipps, I'm still around . . still reading what you are writing . .

Grazie

Please do not post direct links to articles on the Sundance site. Otherwise, we'll have to password protect every page. It's one way we control spam and keep our bandwidth lower. Thanks for your cooperation. The only proper link is http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/help/kb

Damn~! Kat set a worldwide reputation. I remember when Chris Hurd found out who Kat was and posted his address in France. Kat went crazy. He actually started being decent and less offensive for a while there. Maybe someone should post Zippy's physical address?

A couple of weeks ago, I posted the name, physical address and phone number of a jerk that had been causing all sorts of trouble in another forum. (Curiously, he went by a nickname, as does Zippy.) He has now changed his name on the forum to his real name and is behaving himself quite nicely. It's possible that Zippy might be a fairly decent human being in real life. However, There is no evidence of that here on the Vegas forum.

John

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