[Axo1ot1]

I am going to be making some software purchases pretty soon. I am editing a short film and need some software to help FCP through the ordeal. I already know I'm going to get DVD SP 2 and Nuendo 2, but I'm not sure which compositor to get.

I am a student, so the prices for me are as follows:

Commotion 4.1 $250
Combustion 2 $280
After Effects 6 $350

I am familiar with the interface for Shake and I have a bit of experience with combustion. What is the most powerful of the three, and are there any other titles worth looking in to? There is a chance that I can get Commotion Pro for free, but I don't want to try that unless I'm sure that it's what I want.

I also would like to know if After Effects uses a USB dongle for authentication. It's not a huge issue, but if I can, I'd rather have the port free.

[real]

What machine are you working on?

I don't really like combustion just because its so slow. The interface is slow. After effects is great but get the Pro version(that has a tracker and all the pro features you will need for good compositing). After Effects is a good one shot one kill but, if I had the choice I would go with shake. Shake interface is awsome and it is a compositor thats what it does and does it very well. If you need both a motion graphics and compositing app get After Effects. Post back if you have more questions.
real

[k2director]

Are you sure you need a compositing program? FCP offers lots of compositing options within the program that most people aren't really aware of.

[version]

If you find that FCP can't give you the fine control that a compositor can, then my money is on Combustion. AE has the benefit of lots of users, and is more common than the others; Shake is a great high-end program, but it's probably a bit overkill. Combustion, well, I love that program, and having used Shake, and AE, I'd say it's the best deal in town.
It's colour correction tools are ported straight down from Flame, and Inferno; the tracker is just awesome, and again, ported down from it's higher-end siblings.

Yeah, I'd go for Combustion, and at the new lower price, nothing really comes near it.