Demitri Hahlos discovered his passion for event production during his school days, when he volunteered for the AV crew. What started as a curiosity for sound and lighting quickly became a calling. Demitri was the go-to for every assembly, musical, and school event, always eager to learn the ropes and push the boundaries of what was possible with limited gear.
After school, Demitri dove headfirst into the world of live events, working with some of Sydney’s leading production companies and show design firms. His hands-on experience and relentless drive to deliver seamless, memorable experiences led him to found Quantum Gen Productions, where he brings together a team of like-minded professionals who share his commitment to quality and innovation.
“We’re just a small production company that does things like supplying small floor packages for shows and lighting for smaller events, but I do have aspirations of taking it to the next level, so to speak,” commented Demitri.
Recently, Demitri added six Prolights Jet Profile300LT compact moving spotlights and six ShowPRO Cyber Beams to his arsenal, along with more Look Solutions Unique Hazer 2.1s. Not so long ago, Demitri invested in an MA Lighting grandMA3 onPC command wing.
Demitri’s new lights made a stunning debut for DJ Vegyn’s Sydney and Melbourne shows. The London-born producer, artist, DJ, and label head returned to Australia in late October for a rare run of headline shows.
“The house rig in the Croxton Bandroom is fairly simple, so we needed to bring in extra production,” explained Demitri. “In Sydney, it was at Liberty Hall, which has a decent production in it already, so we added a floor package. Riley Holt operated the rig in Sydney.”
Demitri discovered that although the Prolights JetProfile300LT was less bright in the specs compared to the in-house profiles at Liberty Hall, there was really no comparison.
“Riley was super happy with all the gear,” he added. “He was very impressed with the Cyber Beams and the Jet Profile 300 LT, especially considering, at least from my perspective, the price point as well. The Jet Profile 300 LT is a fantastic fixture for the price. Great colours, great feature set. They have the best of both worlds, with an animation wheel and a gobo wheel. He was very happy with it all.”
Demitri added that the fact that you get framing as well is ridiculous! The zoom is impressive too, from a nice, tight 4° all the way in, and then it expands to 44°. Demitri has also enjoyed discovering the split prism effect offered by the Prolights JetProfile300LT.
“We were playing around with some split prism effects because the fixture has both a linear and circular prism; you can do split colour effects too, which look really nice,” he explained. “I do this effect as well, where I frame in the top and the bottom of the beam and then you zoom it all the way out so you get this projector/glass-like looking effect, which is really cool, it looks like a laser. We did that in Melbourne, but not in Sydney, because Riley was operating in Sydney, and he has a different style and vision of what he wants to do.”
Both the Melbourne and Sydney floor setups were kept as simple as possible, with the Prolights JetProfile300LTs positioned on the drum risers and on cases, at varying heights, to resemble a pyramid.
The ShowPRO Cyber Beams were staggered back and forth on the front edge of the drum risers. When Demitri was introduced to the Cyber Beam at Show Technology, he was astounded by its performance.
“As soon as I saw them and discovered they had a 50-watt engine and an amazing throw, I had to have some,” he remarked. “The colour wheel has a great selection of colours in addition to the standard saturated reds, greens and blues. Then, with a light frost and a prism, I was immediately sold. For the price point, you can’t really go wrong with them. They have infinite pan and tilt, they’re fast, and produce a nice, strong beam, especially for a larger room like Liberty Hall. The output for their size is extremely impressive. And once you throw in the prism and frost as well, you can get some really cool-looking effects out of them in addition to just being a beam.”
Quantum Gen Productions now owns four Look Solutions Unique Hazer 2.1s, which Demitri says have been really reliable and are great machines. He notes that they are also a highly desirable hire item, as people value them for their reliability. Water-based haze machines have become the industry standard.
Back in the day, Demitri was a Jands Vista user, and then he started using MA when he began working at Oxford Art Factory, admitting that he fell in love with the flexibility the platform offers.
“It was something that I needed to learn too because most of the companies I was working at were using MA,” he added. “When the price was right and there was demand from certain clients that I look after for hires, I purchased a grandMA3 onPC command wing. It gives me something to do on my off days – I just modify my file, make changes, and experiment. I know there are many prominent designers who use Vista, but MA is present everywhere in the world. It’s probably the only console in the world that you can find a programmer for anywhere you are.”
Demitri comments that his console has performed flawlessly and that all the gear he has received from Show Technology over the years has been reliable.
