Question on certain effects: Possibly masking/path usage?

[sircrackpot]

Member: Decoy
Studio: Decoy Ops
Title: Naruto's Technique Beat
Premiered: 2005-05-26

I noticed in this video and many others the awesome "HUD"-esq type of effects. Seeing as I have NO clue on where to begin when searching for said tutorials that would be related, I thought I'd at least ask questions related.

Is it a combination of photoshop(for HUD templates), key frame morphing(As in flash'ish type morphing effects), masking paths, and other similar effects in combination? Am I completely off in my assumptions/guesses? I would love to try something similar, but if there are steps/problems I can skip due to there already being info on the process, I would love to know about it. I'm not ashamed of trying out things other people have done and try to expand upon and change the usage of said skills and would love to put something like these effects into my repertoire.

I have no clue if it's better to try this in After Effects or it's possible to do something of equal quality(or slightly less) in Vegas, but would love resources and tutorials/info on how to try it in both.

I apologize in advance my n00bness. I swear it's not contagious. D: