UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, USC Annenberg School of Communication and USC School of Cinematic Arts will present "Transforming Hollywood 8: The Work of Art in the Age of Algorithmic Culture," from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, May 5, in the UCLA James Bridges Theater.

The eighth installment of the annual conference will focus on how streaming on-demand services, such as Netflix, Amazon, YouTube Red and Spotify, grant audiences greater choice and democratic access to media content, often in exchange for unfettered access to consumer impulses via sophisticated surveillance tactics that track online activities 24/7.

The daylong conference will feature an opening keynote by University of Colorado professor Ted Striphas, as well as an array of cutting-edge creators and tech startup founders who engineer new forms of online entertainment designed to make individuals click, like and share, rather than simply watch. In a world changed by everything from self-made micro-celebrities to fake news, "Transforming Hollywood" investigates the consequences of algorithmic-versus-human curation of shared cultural knowledge.

Created in part by UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television professor Denise Mann, the "Transforming Hollywood" panelists will include digital media strategy experts and creators:

  • TV writers Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin, co-executive producers of Amazon's "Z: The Beginning of Everything";
  • BuzzFeed News' Jon Passantino, deputy news director, Los Angeles;
  • Havas 18 head of strategy and innovation Thomas Jorion;
  • Zander Lehmann, creator of Hulu's "Casual";
  • NPR arts desk correspondent Laura Sydell;
  • Pandora head of Next Big Sound, Alex White;
  • Purpose Labs founder and CEO Rob Kramer;
  • and Rocío Guerrero Colomo, Spotify's head of content programming/curation and editorial, Latin Global 

A detailed event schedule can be found online.

Admission is $40 for a full-day pass and $25 for a half-day pass. But UCLA students and faculty can receive free admission by adding the promotional code BRUIN. Tickets can be purchased online, and ticket sales end at 5 p.m. Friday, May 5.