I have been looking at what packages people use for creating their motions/loops/still etc.

It's something I'd like to try my hand at, but have no idea where to start. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Buff

Good question! I'm not sure I have the answer!

I use Adobe Premiere for video editing - I am learning to use Adobe After Effects - it's a steeper learning curve, but recently I've not had much spare time - hopefully when our 11 month old is a bit older I'll have more time!

A good website with help & examples is creativecow.net, check them out.

Hopefully this forum will attract others with experience.

I am a beginner but i have found following Brad's tutorials on CMD has been a great way to learn.

Church Media Design

I added that site to the links section just last week :-)

If the direction of the video is not a problem (if it can be run backwards and still make sense), then make the video, follow the instructions here to reverse it:
http://www.rehanfx.org/tips.htm#Reverse_Video and join the two pieces together with moviemaker or whatever. The beginning then is the same frame as the end and it loops seamlessly.

Another way is to cut the video in half, put the second part first, and try a crossfade in the seam between them. This works good if the motion is subtle.

If my Bible Flare loop gets approved, I used the first method. I found a windows wallpaper with a spotlight on a windows flag, super imposed a Bible where the flag was, and added a welder's spot using Pinnacle's Knoll Light Factory Plugin.
Then reversed it to loop seamlessly.

Another simple method: Hopefully, you'll be able to see the result in motion loops as "floral loop" -

I took a static free desktop background in purple. I then used a freeware program paint.net and using the hue and saturation effect, changed it to black and white.

Then I used another freeware program, WinMorph, available here:
I put the B&W slide in and the full color slide, and morphed it to 15 seconds.
Then I did another morph reversing the slides.

Put the two into moviemaker or live moviemaker and save. Since the one movie is the reverse of the other, the final movie is a seamless loop.