Lighting designer Darcy Cook has been behind an MA console for the last 10 years and, having purchased his first MA2 light back in 2016, it was a natural move for him to upgrade to an MA3 platform in one form or another. Consequently, this year saw Darcy invest in a grandMA3 light and a grandMA3 compact XT.
“MA Lighting is a widely-used console around the globe with the ability to cover a range of scenarios requiring flexibly to convert creative ideas into 0s and 1s in a manner defined by the user,” he commented. “This has always been a selling point in my eyes and the more I learn about the console and what it is able to achieve, the more amazed I am at how powerful it is.”
Darcy’s MA3 light is primarily the offsite programming console, mainly being located in his Pre-Visualisation suite, as well as the appropriate local Sydney shows.
“The compact XT will be the workhorse for me,” added Darcy. “I’ve already flown one around Australia and New Zealand whilst touring with Jason Bonham (the son of Led Zeppelin Drummer, John Bonham) for his Led Zeppelin evening. Thanks to Ovation Cases and their featherweight case range, this was made an absolute breeze.”
Darcy says that, from a hardware perspective, having dual engines is a stand out for the MA3 light, and for the compact XT, the size and weight.
“Don’t even get me started on the software, every time I find a new feature or method of achieving a task, I turn into a kid in a candy shop!” he said. “Programming every new show is always exciting because I never know what features I’m going to discover.”
Darcy comments that aside from him doing a ‘stupid thing’ causing an engine to crash (but experimenting is how we learn right?) his MA3 light has performed faultlessly. The faders just feel right, and being behind an MA3 is just a very nice place to be, he adds.
Darcy took his MA3 light to light a show at Randwick Girls High School which has a very serious Performing Arts department. Each year, in conjunction with Randwick Boys High School, they put on a showcase of their best-performing arts students.
“This year I was lucky enough to work with Jeremy Koch at Innovative Production Services in designing and operating,” he remarked. “It’s a mix of dance, musical theatre and live music all crammed into an action-packed 110-minute show. The MA3’s flexibility and power make it the ideal console for any gig.”
In the rig was 16 x Ayrton Ghiblis provided by ei Productions and 30 x Martin MAC Auras from Innovative to supplement the in-house lighting system of Prolights ECL FS and Ayrton Diablos.
Ghiblis were primarily for overhead effects and highlights, with a couple scattered out the front for key light whilst Auras provided the base wash, with the occasional starring moment in beam mode.
