Pyramedia wins Lighting Installation of the Year at Digital Studio Industry Leadership Awards 2009

The win was announced during an Awards dinner last night at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai on the second day of Cabsat, the Middle East's leading event for the digital media industry.

Pyramedia nominated in the category along with Oasis Enterprises, a Dubai-based lighting specialist and systems integrator, for the Lighting Installation of the Year category and won based on the lighting of the stage of highest-rated show on Abu Dhabi TV, Millions' Poet. Held at Al Raha Beach Theatre, the stage of Millions' Poet is designed with the best lighting strips and technology befitting a show watched by 17 million viewers across the Middle East.

"We are honoured to win such a prestigious award in the Digital Media Industry. It was indeed a Pyramedia team effort to put together such an elaborate lighting setup on such a complex set to be begin with and I am proud of all those who were involved, with a special thanks to The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage," said Nashwa Al Ruwaini, CEO and Board Member of Pyramedia.

Pyramedia have been the producers of Millions Poet for the past three seasons and continue to improve upon the stage lighting of the live television show. As a competition TV show based on a traditional form of poetry, Nabati poetry, the set fuses cultural elements with more modern elements of the show. The ordinary beige set, a replica of the Liwa Oasis is only brought to life when lit with the various LED strips, halogen and moving lights. As the traditional, cultural and modern elements of the show come together, it is the lighting that best reflects the merging of the three.

Pyramedia uses thousands of LED strips to light the Millions' Poet stage, the judge's desk and the poets chair and uses the best equipment to control all the different types of lights. One of the dominant aspects of the stage is the large, sliding LED screen which is fed by High Definition (HD) lights. Pyramedia is the only company in the Middle East to film with 16 HD cameras and lighting designers and crews have worked tirelessly to make sure the lighting temperature is set to reveal the same effect in the theatre and on viewer's television screens.

The Digital Studio Industry Leadership Awards 2009 acknowledges the efforts of individuals and companies that have contributed to the growth of the broadcast and production industry in the region. The awards show attracted more than 250 industry professionals, including representatives of Platinum Sponsor Hitachi and Key Industry Sponsor Dubai Studio City, as well as local industry giants including Abu Dhabi Media Company and Arab Media Group. A total of 14 awards were handed out on the night, with the prestigious Systems Integrator of the Year award going to Doha-based Salam Media Cast.

Pyramedia is a multi-faceted media production company based in the Middle East and North Africa region and led by award-winning media personality Nashwa Al Ruwaini. Pyramedia specializes in creating TV, film, publishing and electronic media with a particularly Arabic artistic vision and featuring Arab talent.

Since forming in 1998, Pyramedia has expanded its reach and established a strong global presence with offices in London, New York, Cairo, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Pyramedia's mission is to promote Arab vision and talent to reveal what the Middle East can offer to the international media industry, along with a comprehensive package combining international expertise with local knowledge.

Millions' Poet was launched in 2006 in an effort to bring the region's youth back to its roots by re-popularizing Nabati poetry. The live competition sees 48 poets battle it out through various stages to impress the five-member jury and audiences with their poetry in order to win the prestigious title of the Millions' Poet as well as a cash prize of Five million Dirhams.