BackLight was formed in November 2000 by Pedro with his brother Paulo and his father Américo Luis, former bassist with acclaimed Portuguese progressive rock band, Tantra. Luis Pedro always wanted BackLight to offer something unique to its clients, explaining that the company trademark is to keep a keen 'eye to the ground' and offer the latest technology to designers and technicians. This commitment to innovation, and the ability to deliver consistently to a variety of high profile projects has seen them embrace major success - particularly in the TV and corporate event markets.
BackLight was the first company in Portugal to buy Martin MAC 2000s in 2000. It led the way with investment in James Thomas' PixelRange and PixelDrive control, and was also the first with a digital media server - RADlite. They also bought the initial Avolites' Diamond 4s to the country. "We are consumer led," says Pedro. "We will supply what the designers want."
Its moving light inventory also includes High End and Studio Due and BackLight's sister company VeryLight - the sales arm of the enterprise and a distributor for Avolites, James Thomas and Verlinde.
Current TV projects include four top prime-time shows: SMS (nine shows per week) for RTP and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire for Endemol Portugal, are both shown on the main public service channel, RTP. '1, 2, 3' is a colourful domestic games show with large prizes shown on Channel 3. Then there's Idolos (Idols) for Freemantle Portugal.
SMS and the weekly Millionaire, are both recorded at the RTP Meios Studio in Sintra. BackLight supplies all moving lights and control for both shows, with conventionals and 'white light' sourced in-house from the studios. Millionaire's lighting design is by Laurens Van Koppenhagen, following the familiar guidelines for illuminating the classic set. LD for the Portuguese version is Rui Pimpin, operating conventionals from a Strand 520i, while moving light op Paulo Fernandes uses an Avo Sapphire 2000 console.
Millionaire's moving lights include 12 Studio Color 575s and 12 Studio Spot 575s from High End. BackLight also supplied the show's central circular truss, vertical truss towers plus the Avo Sapphire 2000 console and an oil cracker. The schedules allow for the desk to be shared between Millionaire and SMS.
In Studio 2, SMS is a different concept. The vibrant, multicoloured set designed by architect Polainás requires bright highlighting, primarily in whites, to pull the colour out of the graffiti-style backdrops. SMS's moving lights are 12 Martin MAC 2000 profiles and 12 Studio Spot 575s. The show is again programmed and operated by Paulo Fernandes. The conventionals are operated by lighting director Rui Prates.
Prates originally met Luis Pedro some years ago, when Pedro was giving training sessions on High End equipment at RTP; they've been working together ever since. They specified MAC 2000s because they needed the intensity and power of the gobo projection onto the set. SMS has an expedient budget, but they need to make it look like a big production.
Back in downtown Lisbon, in the Tobis Studio, 'The Two Mário's' - Mário Bastos, one of Portugal's most eminent TV lighting directors, and Mário Rui, a leading moving light programmer - are in action on '1, 2, 3'. The weekly live show features an array of guest performers, six contestants and a differently-themed 360° set each week. The sets are always monochrome, with colour applied entirely through light. BackLight's contribution for this series is 17 MAC 2000s, 10 Studio Colors, eight Clay Paky Golden Scan 3s, 24 PixelP
