What do you need to make CGI movies or image overlays on movies?

Question by John Doe IV: What do you need to make CGI movies or image overlays on movies?
What do you need to make movies from still images or ovelays on a current one? This may sound a little confusing, but here are some examples: greenscreen, flash animation, those youtube movies where some guys is swinging a lightsaber (that is added after filming). What programs do you need to do this? I am familiar with iMovie and Windows Movie Maker, but they obviously don’t have these features. And are there any programs like that availiable as freeware?
I realize that WMM and iMovie are extremelly basic. I have used them for a while and want to step it up a notch.
how about cinelerra?

Best answer:

Answer by wasp_shady
You should get Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects. They are good video-editing programs that have tons of special effects.

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