@Grazie Sometimes you don't know what you want or need until you see it. 😉

When I looked at BorisFX Title Studio, for example, the program apparently does more than just titles. You can also produce graphics. Logos, for instance. NewBlue Total FX has green screen capabilities plus its own titling software. It is almost as if these programs are stripped down versions of 'Vegas Post' to my untrained and easily deceived eyes.

Sometimes graphics/diagrams are important for documentary, to explain something--in a rudimentary way. It seems that the above tools might be able to do those as well.

Vegas Image is perplexing because Magix also has Xara Pro and the latter seems vastly superior. Why not just include Xara Pro instead?

Of course, there are producers who have all the tools I have, plus Vegas Post, among others. So maybe if someone can opine, 'Vegas Post user over here, this tool is unbeatable for such-and-such' or 'really useful for these scenarios...'

VEGAS POST features VFX, which won't help you much with your work, just a personal opinion.
But you can watch VEGAS Effects / Hitfilm tutorials to see whether anything is helpful for your work :

https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/vegas-post-announcement-nab2019-coming-soon--115411/?page=2#ca715579

https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/vegas-effects-tutorials--125161/#ca778867

https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/vegas-effects-tutorials--125161/#ca778996

Note: VEGAS Effects doesn't have :

1. Editing feature,

2. Foundry camera tracker,

3. Mocha hitfilm,

4. BCC 3D Objects,

5. AE plugins support.

So if you encounter tutorials which refer to these features, you need to bypass them.

VEGAS Post does have some nice lens flare and color grading features, and it's handy for creating lower thirds, intro animations/text reveals, that type of thing, but if those other apps are already scratching that itch for you, then you are probably good to stick to them.

@lan-mLMC Thanks. Vegas Post does seem more attuned to making sci-fi/fantasy than documentary/informationals. Perhaps Vegas Post can accommodate other things as it develops.

@fr0sty Thanks, good to know. Most of the other apps were thrown-in with various Magix upgrades, have yet to break them in and really use them. 😃

You can't really "vs" those products as they do different things.

BorisFXTitle could vs NewBlue Titler Pro but not TotalFX

TotalFX would have to be somewhat compared to more full Boris packages that included several effects and transitions as well.

Likewise, Vegasaur can't be compared to any of them. You'd need to compare it to Excalibur or Ultimate S instead.

And Vegas Post is also totally different than the other items listed as well.

They are all tools that can help with your editing - the question then becomes, which will help you most.

@jetdv - Couldn't agree with you more. And I repeat my first comments.

@jetdv You see, that is where the pros like you come in. You help discern that these programs are entirely different from one another with absolutely no functional overlap. Thanks.

@Grazie You ARE listening. It really shows 😀

@jetdv You see, that is where the pros like you come in. You help discern that these programs are entirely different from one another with absolutely no functional overlap. Thanks.

@Grazie You ARE listening. It really shows 😀

@Former user
To get meaningful answers, you should talk much more about the goals you are aiming for and be more specific about what exactly you expect.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but so far I've only read two (very general) points:

• I do primarily documentary video
• Sometimes graphics/diagrams are important for documentary, to explain something--in a rudimentary way

There should be a lot more to come - that's why not only @Grazie , but also the others who want to help you, are on the listening post. 

@walter-i. I have commented above "...So maybe if someone can opine, 'Vegas Post user over here, this tool is unbeatable for such-and-such' or 'really useful for these scenarios...'

Some commented here that Vegas Post is really not documentary type projects and I will stick with that, unless compelling evidence shows otherwise. I was hoping someone would give me a 'for instance...' where someone has used Vegas Post on a documentary project and/or instructional to great benefit.

Others opine that the programs I mentioned are distinct from one another, which is also valid. Extensive use would confirm that. I have not used these programs extensively.

Say for example, you have a student who never used Adobe After Effects and s/he asked if it would be useful for documentary purposes. My answer would be a resounding "YES!!!! It will be VERY helpful." Then I would itemize the 'for instances'.

@Former user Hi, I bought Hitfilm Pro so i could use my 3D OBJ CAD files, but the link with Vegas is stopping (Right click on the media on the timeline - Edit in Hitfilm) , so i got Post so i could get head of what's to come with the ending of that link with Hitfilm, Vegas Effects is almost the same as Hitfilm except there's no timeline where you can add media end to end, Effects is pretty much a one shot composite program, you can add media to the composite but that's it, the project is the length of the orig media, (I haven't found a way to increase the timeline length yet? apart from opening the program with a long video clip, then removing that clip from the timeline & adding other shorter clips to make a timeline project, )

I like the on screen controls & the sliders etc. in the control window in VE,

You can zoom in & out of the preview window,

Render times for me are the same-ish in both programs,

The auto cache of the timeline is good & seems a fraction quicker than Vegas Ctrl+M or B,

& for me it handles the 3D files pretty well just like Hitfilm.

My videos are very simple with minimal effects, maybe a bit of lighting or colour control but that's about it, I rarely use VE for my videos except occasionally the 3D stuff, there's a few extra effects but like i say i don't use it much so i'll play wit those in time.

PS. I orig bought Mocha Pro so i could easily track & hide my number plates in YT videos, & a few other things like tracking & attaching text to a certain point on screen so i could like highlight something, but loved Mocha, it's an excellent program, things snowballed from there, i now have the full Boris suite Standalone + plugin, but i still only use Mocha to hide my no' plate, all the other effects Boris & TotalFX, 98%, are for my own entertainment & i still don't open VE for those, Although i would like Vegas to have a few of the features, like preview window zoom & better on screen controls it does what i need without going to VE,

As someone who does documentary work I don't have much use for Post (but also haven't spent much time with it). For lower thirds and motion graphics maybe it would be helpful but I don't really feel it's necessary.

@Former user Thanks for your input. I am aware of Vegas Post and Hitfilm links. The marketing for the latter does have an emphasis on science fiction effects.

Here are some examples of projects I work on and where visual effects *might* be useful.

In one project, I document the construction of a building. There are extensive interviews with the architect, sketch/draft artists, construction leads, scholars, etc.. They talk about the ideation process and refinements of the architectural plans. When someone speaks about a design phase, I bring up the sketches or plans on the screen and can either zoom and pan to the section referred to via keyframes, or, if using a graphics program, I can circle or highlight the sections of the plans referred to in question. I could also use a graphics program to perhaps highlight some of the design innovations of the structure.

In another project, I am working on an audio documentary of a musician who also was an accomplished graphic designer. The idea came to expand the project to video where I could import album covers, letters and graphics. I could perhaps use a visual effects program to bring some of the graphic design to life. For this artist, there is a strong connection to the music and the attendant art work. '

Some point out. "what is it exactly that you want the program to do?" Which is a fair question. I am thinking along the lines of, "What can the program(s) do that will not take too much time." That said, there could be an effect worth investing time and money in if it will help the viewer comprehend an idea or process better.

@Former user Everything you mention there can be done with Vegas, I add designs & sketches to my videos, pan, zoom when necessary, If you have TotalFX it has Cut Away that will let you circle to highlight something that's also key frameable.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by 'to bring some of the graphic design to life', but VE does the same as Vegas does as in you can add effects & keyframe them, there's not a lot more than that except the preview window controls & zoom i mentioned above, If you can do something in Vegas you can do it in VE & vice versa, except the 3dD import options i mentioned & a few added fxs in VE but nothing worth shouting about, .

@Former user These are all the FX's on my PC, a few like Titler Pro, Title Studio, Mocha Pro, Silhouette, S-Transition & S_effect open their own control window & many have an FXBrowser or a preset load window that opens, but i don't open VE to use any of them, Vegas does it all, you asked 'Maybe Vegas Post has additional functionality that the other programs do not cover' - except the 3D import options I'd say no. as mentioned above, if you can refine your wishes then a suitable program/plugin could be found 👍👍

@Gid Thanks for the insights. It seems Mocha Pro might be a worthwhile investment at some point.