Vegas5 with AE...

FuTz wrote on 7/31/2004, 9:00 AM

Hi. Since I had AE and got the book from amazon a few time ago, I'm finally now in the process of learning how to use it.
I know for sure a lot of what AE can do can be done faster and in an easier way in Vegas.
But just so I don't lose too much time playing around with this app and can go right to the core of usefullness, can anybody tell me what I'll be able to do with AE that I can't do with Vegas? Just a simple list / explanation so I can choose what's relevant in my case?
I'm not trying to raise a debate between Adobe and Vegas, by the way.
It's just that I use Photoshop all the time and I figure out learning AE wouldn't be a bad thing.

Thanks!

Comments

Solocinema wrote on 7/31/2004, 10:45 AM

VV and AE dont' really compete with each other, they're different tools for different tasks, really an apples and oranges relationship. AE's strength is in motion graphics, the ability to place drawn objects on the screen precisely and move them around in impressive ways. It's also very strong with text effects; bringing text on to the screen by following a path or zooming in or "raining" on like you've seen in The Matrix. You dan do things like create text that fades on then sparkles away or revolves around the head of an onscreen character like a halo.

You can see what Motion Graphics pros are doing with products like AE by looking at their reels. The New York Motion Graphics Assiociation posts some at their website, nycmg.org.

bd

filmy wrote on 7/31/2004, 1:52 PM

>>>I know for sure a lot of what AE can do can be done faster and in an easier way in Vegas.<<<

With all due respect - WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???

In all the threads all over here and elsewhere I have yet to see any person say they switched from AE to Vegas. I use AE and I would never dump it for Vegas...I don't even consider Vegas in the same ballpark as AE.

Yes you can do things in Vegas that you can also do in AE. But that does not mean a lot overall - one could also say the following: "I know for sure a lot of what AE can do can be done faster and in an easier way in Premiere/Studio 9/Main Actor/AvidXpress." You can edit in AE, but you really should not try to make AE and NLE because it is not...therefore almost *any* NLE can edit faster and easier than AE.

premiere can do compositing...but it really was not made to do that. Vegas can do compositing as well - and it *was* made, in part, to do that however AE does something and does it well where as Vegas is trying hard to be the swiss Army knife of the DIY crowd - is it an NLE? Why don't you ask over in the Vegas - Audio thread. Is it a DAW? Why don't you ask that here. Is it a tool like AE? Vegas does not yet have a thread for that side so I guess one would have to go ask in another forum.

I agree with Solocinema - apples and oranges.

FuTz wrote on 8/1/2004, 7:35 PM

"I'm not trying to raise a debate between Adobe and Vegas, by the way. "

Well, good ! You confirm, therefore, that I'm gonna have access to one more distinct tool ...

COncerning the "similarities", I was thinking of, yes, compositing. Putting slashes of light into fonts, things like that that I can do relatively fast in Vegas.
And the more I read and get into AE the more I see possibilities I didn't expect to see one week ago.
And I know AE isn't an NLE system but more an effects app.

No need to climb the curtains.

BrianStanding wrote on 8/2/2004, 7:36 AM

I have an old (4.1) version of AE Production Bundle that I still use occasionally alongside Vegas.

One thing AE does that Vegas can't is allow you to nest compositions inside each other. (A variation on the "nested timeline" concept that people on this forum have been hankerin' for). This allow you to set up a simple animation (like say, a bird flapping its wings), then animate that (i.e., make the bird fly across the screen). Each sub-composition is treated exaclty the same way any other media is, and you can apply filters, FX, keyframes, etc. to it. This makes it relatively easy to build complex animations out of multiple simple ones.

There's also a much richer toolset that allows you to change the anchor point of a rotating object. And then, there's all those plug-ins!

I highly reccommend Adobe's "Classroom In A Book" for After Effects. Very well-written tutorial that gives you a good grounding in the basics.

FuTz wrote on 8/2/2004, 10:16 AM

Just like you say, Brian. I'm surrently reading exactly on these topics now (nesting and keyframing) and I can see that just keying itself is a very powerful and complete option in AE (pathing for instance).
I also read an old topic of mine on this forum and I forgot the answers people gave me a couple months ago. I didn't realise at that time that pathing is a lot more than simple keyframing. So right now it's like opening the eyes for the first time.
And it doesn't seem as much complicated as what I was expecting concerning the learning curve...
I just follow the instructions (when I have time, of course) with the "Creating Motion Graphics" book by Trish and chris Meyer and so far everything is A-1-A.
I'll have a peek at the book you recommend too... thanks!