Category: UC Santa Barbara

The Bright Future for Video Gamers and Esports

Real competition.
Real professionals.
Real emotions.

Esports have come a long way from groups of friends playing video games in the living room. Digital sports now fill arenas and command huge TV ratings, with hundreds of thousands of people watching online. So, what does the future hold for the growing industry? Dave Stewart, the executive producer of Riot Games’ North American League of Legends Championship Series, predicts the audience is only going to get bigger. In a fascinating conversation, Stewart discusses what it takes to put on huge events, like the World Championships that drew thousands of fans to a stadium in China in 2017, and how he plans to keep breaking records. He looks at how producers are taking notes from traditional sports – following player storylines and focusing on the emotions of the competition.

Watch Esports and Gaming Futures

Superbugs and Antibiotics

32822We’ve all heard about superbugs, bacterial infections that don’t respond to antibiotic treatment and wondered what’s going on.

When someone falls ill with one of these infections doctors determine which antibiotic to use based on a standard test. But UC Santa Barbara biologist Michael Moore says we may be relying on the wrong test when identifying the antibiotic to treat an infected patient.

The current test was developed in 1961 and is used throughout the world but it’s based on how well drugs kill bacteria on petri plates — not how well they kill bacteria in the body. Moore’s lab has developed a new test that mimics conditions in the body, potentially transforming the way antibiotics are developed, tested and prescribed.

His lab has identified antibiotics that effectively treat infections caused by diverse bacteria, including MRSA, the cause of deadly Staphylococcal infections. These antibiotics are often not prescribed because they failed the standard tests, despite being inexpensive, nontoxic, widely available and often effective.

He is working to modify the existing test so that it can be widely adapted to give doctors better tools and information when battling superbugs.

Drugs that pass the standard test often fail to treat bacterial infections, whereas drugs identified by Moore’s test have been effective.

Learn more and watch Why Antibiotics Fail – People Are Not Petri Plates

For more talks in this series, click here.

Trans Media Makers

8232Transgender issues have been represented on film for some time and have an enormous impact on society because it is through media that most Americans learn about transgender people. This series from the Carsey-Wolf Center at UCSB looks at contemporary media work in television, feature documentaries, and fiction films that explore the dreams, challenges, successes and everyday lives of trans people. These unapologetic films challenge the often rigid binary view of the world.

Take a look at these fascinating discussions:

Raising Zoey
The film follows 13-year-old Zoey and her family as they navigate Zoey’s transition from boy to girl, highlighting the legal battles they wage against discrimination in Zoey’s public school. This Q&A session with the film’s director Dante Alencastre is moderated by Abigail Salazar of UCSB’s Resource Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity.

Transparent
The critically-acclaimed comedy-drama series debuted in 2014. It strives to demystify the trans experience and make it visible. Amy Villarejo, professor of performing and media arts at Cornell University, joins Patrice Petro, professor of film and media studies at UCSB, for a discussion of transgender emergence, Jewish identity and queerness within this TV series.

Free CeCe
The documentary confronts the culture of violence surrounding transwomen of color. CeCe McDonald survived a brutal attack, only to be incarcerated for defending her life. A Q&A session featuring director Jacqueline (Jac) Gares and CeCe McDonald is moderated by Lal Zimmerman, assistant professor of linguistics at UCSB.

Still Black: A Portrait of Black Transmen
Director Kortney Ryan Ziegler’s documentary centers on the stories of six diverse transmen. This Q&A session with Ziegler is moderated by Jennifer Tyburczy, a professor of feminist studies at UCSB.

Tangerine
The critically acclaimed indie film offers a compelling and unique look trans street culture rarely seen on film. The Los Angeles sex trade story was entirely shot using modified iPhone 5S cameras. This Q&A session with actress and transgender woman Mya Taylor is moderated by professor of film and media studies Patrice Petro.

Entrepreneur Insights

8232What do you get when you pair a street-smart start-up expert and UCSB Professor of Practice with industry leaders who have distinguished themselves in their fields? You get a front row seat to fascinating, and sometimes surprising, candid conversations. The newest programs in this long-running series from the Technology Management Program at UC Santa Barbara finds John Greathouse in conversation with some intriguing people. Check out these new interviews:

  • Mark Sylvester, a cook who became the father of CGI and won an Oscar for scientific and technical achievement
  • Stacy Peralta, a skateboarding legend and the accidental inventor of the action sports video
  • Robbie Bach, the creator of the xBox, redefining the gaming industry
  • Mike Falzone, a YouTube star who leveraged his passions into a career
  • Cheryl Conner, who turned her love for writing into a PR firm.

    • For more from the series go to ucsd.tv/tmp

    The Filmmaking Process

    8232New programs from the Carsey-Wolf Center at UC Santa Barbara go behind the scenes with filmmakers, directors, screenwriters and others involved in the film industry. From blockbuster, oscar-nominated films to independent foreign gems, enjoy fascinating stories and insights into the filmmaking process.

    82327 Islands & a Metro with Director Madhusree Dutta
    Director Madhusree Dutta and UCSB Department of Film and Media Studies Professor Bhaskar Sarkar discuss the film 7 Islands and a Metro, a fascinating documentary on Bom Bahia / Bombay / Mumbai.

    8232Arrival with Screenwriter Eric Heisserer
    Arrival screenwriter and executive producer Eric Heisserer talks about adapting the the award-winning short story by Ted Chiang to the big screen.

    8232Hidden Figures with Theodore Melfi and Kevin Costner
    Writer/producer/director Theodore Melfi, actor Kevin Costner and president of Fox 2000 Pictures, Elizabeth Gabler discuss the Oscar-nominated film based on the true story about three brilliant African-American women working on John Glenn’s launch into orbit at NASA.

    8232The Last Aristocrats with Kenneth Pai and Michael Berry
    The Last Aristocrats is a film based on a short story by Kenneth Pai, UCSB Professor Emeritus. It follows four young Chinese women from elite Shanghai families who become stranded in the US when the communists take over Shanghai in 1948.

    Browse more Carsey-Wolf programs