This is kind of a whiny rant, I realize, but every year I stick with Avid, I grow increasingly-frustrated seeing what the other guys are doing while Avid never innovates... they're always way behind. Even doing a 4K project, Premiere had that 2-3 years before we did. Or DCP output, we still can't do that. My MAIN issue, though, is layering simple effects... vs. keying. When you buy effect layer libraries (like Video Co-Pilot and Action VFX) you get non-keyed footage... but it works in everything "but" Avid.
Why can't Avid do a simple "screen" instead of a key...? If they could, it would open up all of these footage libraries where you simply select "screen" and it keys out black and it's a super clean key over footage. Instead, with Avid, we have to kick it out to After Effects, lay in the flares or whatnot, then reimport it. I try to key it in Avid, making a false key for the black but it still leaves a black 'hazy' layer and edges to, say, fire (as the alpha).
Is Avid ever going to get this simple feature that Adobe's had, literally for 10+ years (was in Photoshop, then AE, and now Premiere Pro)...? I'm not being sarcastic, I really want to know.
C'mon Avid, I've been with you for 18 years now but throw us a bone once in a while. Everyone's jumping ship to Premiere in Hollywood, yet, I'm trying to hang in there... my current network wants to make the switch and it's getting harder and harder to justify us sticking with Avid when it can't do so much of what Premiere can do.