Ambersphere were thrilled to be on site, catching up with a host of lighting designers who were pushing creative boundaries with grandMA3 consoles and, in many cases, lighting up the night with Ayrton fixtures.
Across the weekend we got to speak to several lighting designers and a few clear trends stood out. Recipes are now a core part of most workflows, Selection Grids are speeding up programming, and Ayrton continues to impress with its output, flexibility, and performance on camera.
MA3: The Console of Choice
Whether on a grandMA3 Full-Size or Light, nearly every designer we met was running their show from an MA3 platform – testament to its power and flexibility in festival environments.
Over on the Avalanche Stage, Tom Rawlinson was running an MA3 Full-Size on v3 software, and said, “My preference is always to light up a band – on a tour or festival site. You almost feel like part of the band and a key part of the performance.” He gave special thanks to fellow programmer Ted Harcombe for a show file that carried him through the weekend.
Ben Inskip, working with long-time client Don Broco on a grandMA3 Light with 2x PU-Ms, lit up the Apex Stage on Saturday afternoon. When asked what he enjoyed most about lighting this performance, Ben responded, “I like the band… it’s great doing shows with them again. They are fun and let me have fun with lighting designs.” He highlighted Data Pools, Timing Masters, and GridStore as key features — “Don’t know how I lived without it.”
Recipes: The go-to feature
If there was one feature every LD mentioned by name, it was Recipes.
Michael Cooper, lighting Shinedown and adapting to PRG’s house rig, said: “While it takes a touch longer to program with them, the time savings after initial programming is complete, is a game changer.” Noting, “I also love how specific you can get with individual timing parameters via the recipe lines.”
Ben Inskip was just as clear: “Yes, I use Recipes for everything I programme. It saves so much time when dealing with different house lighting rigs and gives great visibility of what each cue is doing.”
And for Tyler Chaney, who worked on the Opus Stage, Recipes were essential to keeping the show fluid: “Being able to swap out fixture groups inside a recipe and have that change carry on through multiple sequences was a total game changer.”
Ayrton Fixtures Make Their Mark
Ayrton played a key role at Download, especially on the Opus Stage, where Tyler Chaney used Karif LT and Eurus S fixtures to good effect.
He said, “Their long-throw capability made for stunning, punchy beams that cut through the air beautifully, especially in those high energy moments.
Further explaining that “with the kind of performances we had on stage, it was very much a “go hard or go home” vibe, and the Ayrton fixtures absolutely delivered. That said, they also gave us loads of creative freedom for the more atmospheric, slow chilled moments, which I really appreciated.
Saturday’s headliner, Sleep Token, also brought with them a rig featuring over 90 Rivale Profiles utilised beautifully by Richard Larkum to create the show’s atmosphere in conjunction with an intricately designed set and stunning video content.
Practical Tools in a Festival Setting
Working in a festival environment means adapting fast, with fast-moving schedules and rig changes throughout the weekend, many designers leaned into busking.
Mark Scrimshaw, also using an MA3 Full Size, appreciated features that helped him keep pace. “Grid selection… made making symmetrical positions very quick indeed,” he said, and “the MA start show also gave a fantastic starting point on which to build a busking show.” He also pointed out that the Recipe function “made swapping fixture types and quantities a breeze too as the rigs changed over the weekend.”
Michael Cooper also highlighted the MVR workflow, “I can draw a rig and patch it in WYG in no time at all… then export the MVR, import into MA3 and it’s off to the races.” He also noted the benefits of MA3 onPC on Mac, using Logic Pro for timecode, “I route timecode virtually from Logic Pro into MA3 onPC and do not have to use external interfaces for timecode programming.”
A big thank you to PRG, Siyan and Zig Zag Lighting as the lighting suppliers for making it all possible. For us at Ambersphere, it was a joy to see so many of our products in action.