What software to buy- Shake? After Effects? VisionLab Pro?

I am looking for an effects/compositing application for effects like muzzle flashes, flames, chroma keying, electricity/lightning etc. I have FCS2 but Motion doesn't seem to do all of these things well. Therefore, what works best? What is easy to learn and use well? How does quality compare? I have downloaded the demo for VisionLab Pro and it seems great, but what else does Shake or anything else have to offer? For reference, I am an experienced high school student editor, not a full-time fx pro, so ease of use plays a role too.

Visionlab Pro seems interesting for what you seek. But the all-in-one compositing and effect tool box I would go for is After Effects. It's pricey but it has so much in it. I love Shake but you have to feed Shake with things, you don't have an build in particles system for example. Shake is more film compositing than anything else, great for keying, chromas, color correction, wire removal etc. After Effects can do all these things. And it's layer based so you get the hand of it quicker.
On Shakes upside: it's cheaper and node based. and if you learn node based compositing you can work in the industry, Shake is still very much alive out there @ the vfx houses.

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