Having fixtures all facing the same direction is key – not just for pan and tilt movement, but also for the default direction that color flags, gobos, and other effects will enter into the light path. I generally ask for all displays to face upstage, unless I have torms or other sidelight that cannot be rigged in this manner. In this case, I find that having the SR and SL opposite of each other is better (all displays offstage). This allows me to tilt the units towards the stage and still have all effects running the same direction within the units. …Aligning all your fixtures to operate in the same manner is a very important task that should always be done at the beginning of a programming session. When all parameters move as expected in a natural manner, it becomes much easier and faster to program the desired looks.
-Brad Schiller, from “Feeding the Machines,” PLSN, Nov. 2017, page 132