I use pro titler and throw debugmodes's 3D plugin on top. I'll create a normal rolling title say from bottom to top, place some shadow under it, and then use the 3D filter to tilt it into the screen so that it rolls from front to back instead of from bottom to top.
There is also blender that can do 3D text. You will have to composite into your video though. However, it will do other 3D modeling and rendering than just text. Since it's open source it is free.
Boris Graffiti and Boris RED can do 3D text and a whole lot more and it plugs in to Vegas so you just drop it on the timeline and go. Very easy to extrude text or even a logo into 3D. No need for a separate render like other external applications.
The Boris products are great if you've got the money. For those on a limited budget (and even if you have lots of money) I highly recommend Blufftitler. This program is amazing. Please do not let the very cheesy-looking samples on their site scare you. You can do an amazing amount of stuff with this inexpensive but powerful program. It does more than text.
It appears to be discontinued and I have no idea why (works well even in 8b), but I just emailed some one the plug in pac. If you want it then post your Ad. and I'll send it.
There's products from free to many thousands of dollars and you kind of get what you pay for. Without being specific it's about the same question as "which car should I buy?".
If you want general 3D graphics the task gets a bit more difficult.
Proanimator does pretty good 3D text and 3D graphics from closed vector Illustrator files. So not a general 3D program as such. Many of the free 3D programs can do text and general 3D graphics and animations. No matter which one though expect a steep learning curve, I've been there with Truespace, Bryce, Maya (long ago) and Daz Studio.
> Never used blender text before so it took me ~an hour to figure out what the options meant.
By your own admission in your linked post:
...in college I did lots of modeling in Lightwave & Maya. I used blender back then too on SGI's but never took the time to learn it
You are hereby disqualified as a newbie and have been are striped of your newbie status! ;-) (Lightwave and Maya indeed!) If you can learn Lightwave you can learn anything. That has got to be one of the most awful 3D interfaces I have ever tried.
But seriously, I learned how to do 3D extruded text in Carrara Pro 6 in a few minutes but I also knew how to use Cinema 4D before that so it was just a matter of getting my bearings in the new interface. Personally, I would not expect someone new to 3D modeling to pick it up as quickly.
If you want something dead simple, then get a copy of Ulead Cool 3D. That thing was about as easy as it gets.
I LAST used Lightwave & Maya back in '00 (when I left college). I used Maya 1.0 on a SGI o2. Blender I used metaballs. Couldn't get any farther. :) Can't afford a copy of Lightwave or Maya so I decided to do more then watch meta-balls morph together. After 8 years!
I know the basics of 3d space, modeling, etc. (been doing game stuff for years). In college I never did great in the modeling dept but I learned quite a bit about the software & was pretty good with animations. Stick figures & what not, but I had great animations & concepts. :D
BTW, I never used blender TEXT before. Didn't even know I could until I just say in the "add" menu it was there. I was all ready to draw via curves. Which I never used in blender either. Until that post. :D The stuff I did in lightwave is lost forever (video burned up in house fire) & the stuff in maya isn't that great.
Debugmodes's 3D Plugin / Plugin Pac -- If possible, eMail it to me too! Sync2Rhythm(at)gMail(dot)com
That's awesome that the 3D Plugin works in v8. I would rather use a 3D Plugin that would allow me to manipulate just one clip as apposed to doing it via 3D Track Motion.
These are the apps I use for 3D titling:
Boris RED
Zaxwerks ProAnimator
BluffTitler
Photoshop [i](Psuedo 3D)
"The plug-in-pac is still available for download on the debugmode site. No need for anyone to send it to anyone else:"
Sorry, that's not true. This is what you get with your link:
PluginPac Plugins are no longer supported. A more advanced version of the plugins is available by the name Wax. The old PluginPac plugins are not supported anymore and development has been stopped. It is highly recommended that you download Wax if you are looking for plugins.
And everybody has concluded that wax is not working.
Debugmodes's 3D Plugin / Plugin Pac -- If possible, eMail it to me too!
check your mail
edit:
Never mind... it was returned: "Your message is larger than the destination computer is willing to accept, so it was returned. The error message below indicates the size of your message and the maximum size allowed by the receiving E-mail system. You may be able to split your message into several smaller pieces and have them delivered separately.
I downloaded WAX and installed it and everytime I move one of the WAX transitions into place on my timeline the whole PRO8 program crashes. Any help here?
Burt