Looks & Scenes

What it's for — Looks and Scenes are the reusable output presets your cues reference. A Look targets a GrandMA3 console; a Scene captures a multi-protocol snapshot you can fire across lighting, video, and effects simultaneously.

The screen, region by region

The screen has two tabs — GMA3 Looks and Scenes — unified in one palette. CueSync opens the tab that has content; if both have content, it opens on Looks.

GMA3 Looks tab

Looks list (left) — All Looks in your library, grouped into banks. Each Look tile shows its name and a usage count badge (how many cues reference it). The badge turns red when a Look is orphaned (referenced cues were deleted).

Look detail (right) — When a Look is selected, the right panel shows the GrandMA3 executor, cuelist, preset, or sequence it targets, plus any affinity settings Auto Pilot uses when selecting it automatically (phrase type, energy range, BPM range).

Console status chips (bottom) — One chip per connected GrandMA3 console showing whether the Look palette is synchronised.

Test-fire button — Fires the Look to the connected console immediately. A success or failure toast appears.

Scenes tab

Scenes list (left) — All Scenes in your library, grouped into banks. Each Scene tile shows its name, usage count, and an indicator when the Scene is currently held (outputs are live).

Scene detail (right) — When a Scene is selected, shows the list of protocol bindings it contains: which outputs fire, what values they receive, and whether each binding is releasable.

Test-fire button — Fires the Scene across all its bound outputs immediately. A success or failure toast appears.

Looks vs. Scenes — what's the difference?

Looks are GrandMA3-specific. A Look maps to a single executor, cuelist, preset, or sequence on your GrandMA3 console. When a Look fires, CueSync tells the console to activate that element. Auto Pilot can select Looks automatically based on musical moment (phrase type, energy, BPM).

Scenes are cross-protocol. A Scene groups output bindings across any mix of connected protocols — lighting, video, effects — into a single named snapshot. When a Scene fires, every binding in it fires at once. Scenes are the primary way to synchronise multiple output types from a single cue or pad. They can be triggered from cues, pads, or Auto Pilot, and can be released (bindings returned to their prior state) when the Scene ends.

Common tasks

1. Create a Look — Open the GMA3 Looks tab and click +. Enter a name and select the GrandMA3 executor, cuelist, or preset to bind.
2. Test-fire a Look — Select the Look and click the test-fire button. Confirm the console responds.
3. Create a Scene — Open the Scenes tab and click +. Name the Scene, then add protocol bindings one by one (each binding picks a protocol output and the value to send).
4. Test-fire a Scene — Select the Scene and click the test-fire button. All bindings fire immediately.
5. Check usage count — The number badge on each tile shows how many cues or pads reference it. A zero count means nothing will fire it during the show — consider deleting it or assigning it to a cue.
6. Delete a Look or Scene — Select the item and click Delete (or right-click → Delete). CueSync warns you if any cues will be orphaned.

Tips & gotchas

• Scenes are the cross-protocol coordination primitive. If you want a single cue to fire lighting, video, and effects together, put all those bindings in a Scene and reference the Scene from the cue — rather than adding separate actions for each protocol.
• Orphaned references become silent no-ops. If you delete a Look or Scene that is referenced by cues, those cue actions will silently do nothing at fire time. The usage count badge and a confirmation warning help you avoid this.
• Auto Pilot uses Looks, not Scenes, for automated moment-matching. Configure the phrase, energy, and BPM affinity on each Look to give Auto Pilot the information it needs to choose the right Look for each musical moment.
• Test-fire paused Auto Pilot does not block the panel. You can test-fire from the palette at any time. Auto Pilot's "paused" state only suppresses its own automatic firing; manual test-fire always goes through.

Related

• Cues — Reference Looks and Scenes from cue actions
• Cue Pads — Assign Scene-firing cues to pads for live triggering
• Devices — Connect and verify your GrandMA3 console and other outputs