An Avolites Diamond 4 Elite was specified to control over 100 moving fixtures
and a host of digital lighting and effects for the Portuguese 4th channel, TVI’s
14th anniversary gala event.
The special live broadcast was staged in the Black & Silver saloon at Estoril
Casino just outside Lisbon, with full lighting and video production supplied by
locally based rental company Backlight – run by the charismatic Luis Pedro.
Lighting designer was Mario Bastos and the moving and digital lights were
programmed
and operated by Mario Rui
The show featured performances by Portugal’s top entertainers, musicians,
singers
and comedians.
Rui and Bastos and executive producer Rita Carrelo all worked closely with the
team from Backlight to realise the event’s technical production in the very
tight timeframe.
Avolites Diamond 4 Vision and Elites are the consoles of choice for Rui, who
programmes, operates and lighting directs for many of Portugal’s leading TV
shows.
"I use the D4 for all my major shows" he states adamantly.
On TVI, the D4 was controlling a mix of Vari*Lite VL500 (700 Arcs), SGM Palco 3s
and Ribaltas, JTE PIxelPARs and PixelLines.
Rui says, "I really like the instant accessibility of all the features on the D4
- the fact that they are right there in front if you, so you don't have to
navigate a load of menus, etc.". This suits his particular ‘hands-on’ style of
operation very well, which includes 'riding' the faders and being flexible
enough to go with the flow of the show.
He specifically likes the fact that the upper faders can be used as memories,
and thinks that the array of available shortcuts - allowing the operator to be
really nimble in negotiating the console – are excellent.
Backlight also supplied the TVI show with Avolites ART 2000 dimmers, ARRI white
lights, Robert Juliat Cyrano 2.5K followspots, Barco projection and an
innovative 4 x 3 metre projection screen. The latter was made from tensioned
strips of industrial strength knicker elastic, which allowed presenters and
performers to enter stage right through its centre.
Bastos additionally took advantage of over 100 house moving lights, integrating
them into his design, and these were also patched into the show system via the
D4. These are normally be controlled by the house’s own Avo Diamond 2, and their
new Pearl 2008 consoles that were supplied to the venue by VeryLight (the sales
arm of Backlight) .
The TVI Galas are just one of several ongoing TV productions being serviced by
Backlight, all of them featuring Avolites consoles.
From the rental company perspective, Backlight's Luis Pedro says, "We like
Avolites because it's absolutely stable and we never need to worry about backup.
The consoles are rock solid".
