Re: two styles there,AE is based on layer,Shake is based on node.

Shake was built for film compositing, AE was built for motion broadcast design. They are both king in their respective fields. Ofcourse there is overlap. AE is being used in Film and Shake is being used in broadcast.

Shake will give you much greater control over your composite however, with the cost of a higher learning curve. AE is simple, reliable, and quite a complete tool.

Shake is node based, AE is layer based. Shake might take 3 stpes to do something that would take AE one step. However, AE hides these intermediate steps and just gives you control of the final result. Shake on the other hand takes more stpes but you have TOTAL control of your image every step along the way. This is very powerful in the hands of an experienced compisitor who understands the processes being done to an image to create a composite. But for someone new to compositing this will just confuse them. Top shake compositors understand the mathematical computations being applied th their images, while this is probably the last thing on an AE artists mind. Now thats not to say you have to be a math wiz to learn shake, but understanding a little "behind the scenes" will really help trouble shooting when a composite isnt turning out the way you expected.

In the end I think most would agree that shake is a more powerful tool. AE 6.5 has made some great advancements however and the gap continues to close.

Regards,
Emery