KQED Wins Prestigious Webby Award for Deep Look's Mosquito Video

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sevda Eris, 415-553-2835, seris@kqed.org

April 28, 2017 San Francisco, CA — KQED’s award-winning YouTube science series Deep Look won a Webby People's Voice Award in the Science and Education Film and Video category with its three-minute video 'How Mosquitoes Use Six Needles to Suck Your Blood.' Deep Look explores big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small and is shot in ultra-HD.

Dubbed “the Internet’s highest honor” by The New York Times, the Webbys are seen as a standard of excellence on the Web. Deep Look’s mosquito video was competing against short videos from renowned media outlets such as BBC Earth and Time Inc. This is KQED’s first Webby Award win.

“We were honored to be among such esteemed nominees in this category,” said Craig Rosa, Deep Look’s series producer. “And it’s a privilege to be working with such a talented team of colleagues dedicated to sharing the wonder of science with millions of viewers around the globe. This award will help us reach even a wider audience, and we want to express our gratitude to all the fans who made it happen.”

With over 50 videos to date, this episode is Deep Look’s most popular, with more than 4.5 million views. “Part of its popularity comes from humans having such an intimate relationship with mosquitoes. They take our blood — what could be more personal than that? ” said Gabriela Quirós, the episode's producer and the coordinating producer for the series. “The episode is also very surprising. I grew up in Costa Rica, surrounded by mosquitoes and reported for several years on mosquito-borne diseases, and yet, I had never heard that they had these amazing mouthparts — until recently.”

Deep Look launched in October 2014 and is presented in collaboration with PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look’s award-winning production team also includes Josh Cassidy, lead producer and cinematographer; Elliott Kennerson, producer, editor and post-production coordinator, and new host and writer, Lauren Sommer. Each episode has an original score by Seth Samuel, as well as additional editing and motion graphics by Kia Simon. The Webby-winning episode also has animations by Teodros Hailye. In October 2015, Deep Look won the Best Limited Series – Short Form at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. The entire series with accompanying articles can be accessed at KQED.org/deeplook.

This year’s Webby winners were announced on Tuesday, April 25 to honor excellence on the internet and are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of more than a thousand industry experts and technology innovators. The Webby Awards presents two honors in every category — The Webby Award and the Webby People's Voice Award. In the spirit of the open Web, The Webby People's Voice is awarded by the voting public. With 13,000 entries from all 50 U.S. states and over 70 countries, 3.5 million votes were cast for the Webby People’s Voice Awards, making the 21st Annual Webby Awards the biggest in Webby history.

The Webby Award in the Science and Education Category went to Time Inc. Video for “A Year in Space, Episode 7: A Walk in the Abyss.” Among other winners this year was PBS Digital Studios’ science series It’s Okay to Be Smart. The series host, Joe Hanson, won the Webby Award for Best Web Personality/Host (Film & Video). Find out more about PBS-related winners here. The winners will accept their awards on Monday, May 15, in New York during a ceremony that will be streamed on YouTube. A full list of all winners is available at webbyawards.com/winners/

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, the largest science and environment reporting unit in California. KQED Science is supported by HopeLab, S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, The Vadasz Family Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the members of KQED.

About PBS Digital Studios
PBS has long brought the public original, thought-provoking programming. PBS Digital Studios takes that same mission and applies it to the Internet age. Working with creators from across the web, its network of short-form video series showcases the best of the Internet while also celebrating the best parts of public television.

About KQED
KQED serves the people of Northern California with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. An NPR and PBS affiliate based in San Francisco, KQED is home to one of the most listened-to public radio stations in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services and an award-winning education program helping students and educators thrive in 21st-century classrooms. A trusted news source and leader and innovator in interactive technology, KQED takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas.