Turn off backlight on front four soft buttons?

[nerdherd]

Does anyone know of a way to disable the backlighting on the front four soft buttons? I use my phone as an alarm clock in the table dock, but those four buttons stay on all night long and are very bright. I always just turn the screen of the phone off to get rid of the light, but I'd much rather leave the screen on but turn those four buttons off. I want to be able to check the time without having to press the unlock button.

Also, when watching a movie the buttons stay lit and it's a little distracting.

Any ideas?