After months of preparation that led to the 16-weeks of television episodes aired live on Abu Dhabi TV, the world-class Pyramedia production team wrap up season three of the hit show, Millions’ Poet. The lighting, technical and production departments of Pyramedia worked side-by-side with experts in High Definition filming and sound engineers to bring the reality TV competition to an audience of more than 15 million across the Arab World. In order to present the best show possible for the theatre audience and television viewers, Pyramedia gathered the best talent and technical crews from Dubai, Cairo, UK and Germany. With over 150 crew members working non-stop for ten months from pre-production to post-production of Millions’ Poet, it took great resolve and determination to turn the highest-rated show on Abu Dhabi TV into a creative and technical hit. Pyramedia’s technical team included British set designer Christopher George, known for designing countless sets for film, television and theatre, he lent his expertise for the set of Millions’ Poet. The different elements of the set fused modern elements with the large sliding LED screen and traditional elements with the influences of the villages in the Liwa Oasis built into the overall decor. The main focus on the stage was the large LED screen positioned at the back of the set, composed of two panels, computer controlled and motorized, sliding open on cue and fed by High Definition (HD) lights. Pyramedia is the only company in the Middle East to film with 16 HD cameras with an HD Outside Broadcast van in order to reflect the best resolution possible to the viewers at home. As a show based on a traditional form of poetry, Nabati poetry, the set and lighting fuse cultural elements with more modern elements. The colour-neutral beige set was only brought to life when lit with various LED strips, halogen and moving lights, a combination joined together by Lighting Designer Harvey Scherer. 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 poet’s chair and use only the best lighting boards programmed by German Programmer Timm Kum to control all the different types of lights. Pyramedia has recently won the Digital Studio Award for ‘Best Lighting Installation’ for the TV show and it was best reflected in the finale of Millions’ Poet as the name of winner Ziad Hajab bin Naheet was announced and fireworks and confetti rained down, it was the lighting effects, perfected by programmer Kum that turned the moment into a festive celebration. Using only the best in sound technology, DPA Headband microphones were used for the presenters, poets and judges with a fiber optic connection to the OB van and state-of-the-art sound mixers and surround sound systems were used in the theatre including the Studer Vista 8 Sound Mixer. Pyramedia has been successful in creating a team made up of specialists from all over the world, but most importantly in striving to build its team of experts from the region. Pyramedia’s crew is made up of cameramen, lighting specialists, sound technicians scriptwriters, producers and directors from countries around the region and overseas. Pyramedia is a media production company based in the Middle East and North Africa and led by Nashwa Al Ruwaini. Through a combination of production, creative and technical skills, Pyramedia produce media based in local knowledge and traditions, making them appealing to audiences throughout the region and internationally. Since forming in 1998, Pyramedia has expanded its reach and established a strong global presence with offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London, Cairo and New York. The Millions’ Poet was launched by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage and is produced by Pyramedia. Its aim has been to bring the region’s youth back to its roots by taking the traditions of the Bedouins from the Gulf into the 21st Century by bringing them to our screens. This year’s live competition saw 48 poets battle it out through various stages to impress their audiences with their poetry and win the prestigious title of the ‘Millions’ Poet’ as well as a cash prize of five million Dirhams.