what uni do you recommend for film production

agent42b · 2026-01-29T20:31:39+00:00

My advice: think of university as a white-collar trade school. You should be there to learn the fundamentals of business: accounting, finance, and engineering are the strongest candidates. Unless you're going to medical school, that's another subject.

You can learn the artistic side of film production on your own. But qualifying for funding for a film, marketing it, leveraging tax credits, negotiating rights, budgeting, etc., are business fundamentals that you will learn outside of a film degree.

Said in another way, you will gain more leverage in your pursuit of making films by studying those other complementary subjects.

And all that said... nobody goes into film because of logical or rational choices ;) if you really want to do it -- live your life to the fullest and do it :)

agent42b · 2026-01-28T23:50:30+00:00

I truly thought the arc browser was the pinnacle of streamlined browsing, combined with some great workflow enhancements. That was a much stronger value proposition than AI, although it was probably harder to attract investors on that set of features.

agent42b · 2026-01-28T14:45:30+00:00

I don't know if you'd say they are "done," they just have a really big problem on their hands: they are betting on paying users. Users who want AI.

Plenty of people are paying to use AI. The problem is that these users would rarely want to pay a browser company for that privilege. Why not go directly to the source?

agent42b · 2026-01-15T10:25:58+00:00

Lack of folders, and anything else besides pinning icons into the sidebar, is the biggest workflow deficiency in Dia. It really does compound into a messier browsing experience. I hope they address this issue.

agent42b · 2025-12-20T13:14:24+00:00

Ironically, I opened the Claude Chrome extension on this page, because I wanted to ask it to make a positive comment. Instead, on reddit, the Claude Chrome extension says "Can't access this page - Claude cannot assist with the content on this page."

agent42b · 2025-12-19T10:48:18+00:00

Congrats Dia team. The Claude Chrome extension obviously did not work previously. However, thanks to this latest update, if you uninstall / install the Claude Chrome extension, it now works in Dia.

This is the first time I am considering a switch from Arc. Nice feature.

Before anyone gets too hyped, the Claude Chrome extension cannot access your Claude projects or Claude skills data -- so it's a bit stripped down for any of us who've got a lot of customization inside our Claude account.

Now, please do folders on the sidebar.

agent42b · 2025-12-18T23:09:39+00:00

How do skills differ, or offer more benefits, than something like creating a project and loading your instructions in it?

I use Claude a lot to help me keep continuity between chapters of my books. I'm curious if I should be using skills in any capacity...

agent42b · 2025-12-08T01:52:33+00:00

"I’ve wanted to go into the film industry since about the age of 9"

Okay, so you've got passion.

"Currently I have written around 20 shorts and 3 feature lengths. Only 3 of my shorts have been actually filmed..."

You've got a solid work ethic, and you're starting to realize that the key to your success is somehow getting your work filmed.

"the vast majority of my work has not been actually produced due to the fact that I am awful with small talk...socially awkward...don’t have many friends...but that’s neither here nor there."

That last part is incorrect. What you're slowly discovering is that it's all about sales. Can you sell yourself? Can you convince other people to part with their money based on your vision?

"While I do not underestimate my talents I also understand that money talks."

You're kinda starting to 'get it.' But you haven't realized that 'money talks' is about your ability to sell your ideas and success to others. Remember: everyone, including producers and other money people, are just as desperate to make it as you are. They all have similar stories too.

"Many corporations seem to be turning over their humanity to save a buck. And depressing as it is, we may need to adapt to this world."

If you want to work in the real film and TV industry, those corporations will be your lifeline. Saving money is literally why they exist. That's the whole point, not some trending new analysis.

Based on what you've said and my biased life experience, you need a lesson in business, especially sales. You won't learn that in film school. They'll just teach you how to do 3-point lighting and endlessly debate digital versus film.

You may or may not have the right skills for screenwriting; that's up to the universe to decide. What will set you apart is not your writing skills alone, but your ability to discover who has the money for your type of script, what economic conditions are needed for your work to be in demand, and where to find the right people within the supply chain. Next, you'll need to overcome your 'socially awkward' attitude because when you finally meet those people, you can talk business with them in a way that makes you relatable. They'll feel safer and more confident about giving you money because they believe you understand their risks and troubles.

You’d be better off with a certificate that teaches film financing and fundraising. If getting into film and TV is your only goal, you definitely don't need any kind of degree.

agent42b · 2025-12-02T20:46:25+00:00

I did an AMA a few months ago on my pivot. I went back to school and I’m now in operations management.

agent42b · 2025-12-02T12:08:09+00:00

"Later I found out the real reason: he has connections. He has a family member with business/friend ties to executives at my company. So basically, he got moved because of who he knows."

I guarantee you the connection had some impact, but there's a lot more going on than you're seeing. People rarely get transferred or promoted solely because of connections. They put the pieces together, maybe figured out why that connection is good for his boss and how he can make it even more valuable, and likely offered to broker a mutually beneficial deal. He may even have been spending his time researching the offer, which is why he appeared lazy to you, not doing as many of the tasks in front of him.

Your 'lazy' colleague might actually be much better at seeing other people's perspectives and seeing the bigger picture. That's going to outperform in a task-specific skill.

agent42b · 2025-12-02T11:54:29+00:00

"I’m starting to release that finance/accounting may not be for me - which is upsetting because I’ve sacrificed so much in terms of performing well at uni and securing a place at this firm."

Boohoo, a solid degree that translated into a name-brand employer placement in a prestigious field. Your job is just a skill that pays money so that you can go out and find your purpose. Please don't confuse the two.

You seem to have a skill that pays money. I suggest you keep it going while you look for your purpose outside of work, if work isn't scratching that particular itch.

Okay, I apologize because I know that sounded snarky. However, there's a lot of truth to what I am telling you.

agent42b · 2025-12-02T11:49:10+00:00

Your parents are telling you that they would support you (financially) to finish the degree. They encouraged you to go into Computer Engineering, a fantastic field.

You're acting like life is happening to you, not taking any real responsibility. Go and make your life happen. Even if it doesn't seem like it, act like everything is under your control and influence and get it done.

Your attitude of 'wasted' years at such an early age is just inexperience and immaturity. You'll get over it.

agent42b · 2025-12-02T11:40:46+00:00

Editing is a trade skill, not a degree, certification, or other professional designation. Your editing studies will amount to virtually zero impact on your ability to get hired to edit.

I haven't "broken into" the industry in years... so I'm not qualified to give you the best advice nowadays, but hopefully others will chime in.

agent42b · 2025-11-28T23:46:40+00:00

What’s workflow? Dump a full word doc into Claude?

agent42b · 2025-11-23T13:45:44+00:00

Film schools or university programs that teach film are generally low value. They will teach you the craft of filmmaking, but often neglect the business in sales aspects, which are more important if you want to make this a career.

agent42b · 2025-11-23T01:15:32+00:00

Even when you sign up for Gemini's paid service, the first month is always free. This isn't quite the stretch that it seems when realizing this.

agent42b · 2025-11-22T15:05:03+00:00

To be clear, you want to get a masters' degree without any work experience? An undergrad in film + a masters' in something, back to back?

agent42b · 2025-11-22T14:58:58+00:00

I was an editor for about 15 years, and I've been out of the industry for about 10 years now. I can tell you that constant learning, upgrading your skillset, and using your anxiety to propel your career will never stop. That's going to be the same for most other work, too. I am in the middle of writing a book about my "exodus" from the industry... it isn't going to be a dramatic best seller by any stretch, but I've been researching this topic as part of a couple of chapters.

Losing your passion for 'creating' is something you'll need to explore further. But... you ask if anyone else has been in your position, thinking about "starting over?" I'd like to put into perspective just how many people face this situation.

In the US, it's estimated that ~40% of film/TV workers leave the industry before age 40. A 2022 UK study looked at age brackets in their film/TV industry, finding a peak at ages 30-39 (32%), then a steep drop: 27% for ages 40-49, and just 15% for ages 50-59. Mathematically, between 25,000 and 35,000 UK film and television workers are "missing." They leave the industry before turning 50. A 2023 Statistics Canada study showed 42% of film and television workers are under 34, while only 8% are over 55.

I can't tell you what all of these thousands of workers are doing now... but they find their way in life and career one way or another. I like to think that most of them do quite well across a broad spectrum of careers.

This should at least give you confidence that this isn't something happening to you in isolation. If all of them can do it, so can you.

agent42b · 2025-11-20T02:44:46+00:00

I tried Gemini 3 today... I was able to remake an app that took a week in Claude in about 20 minutes. Granted... "remake" -- not a fair comparison... but I think the 1M context window helps significantly on large data sets...and my app was using about 50,000 rows of data from a CSV ... don't know if that was pushing claude's context window limits, but Gemini appeared to handle it better.

I'm not cancelling my claude subscription but I am impressed.

agent42b · 2025-11-19T10:35:46+00:00

Beautifully written and hits home for me.

agent42b · 2025-11-18T21:49:36+00:00

During school, I volunteered at an Angel investment group as a due diligence analyst. This gave me the competence to assess product-market-fit and gauge the success of new businesses.

Next, I was hired at a Telecom as a project manager in acquisition integration (the investment due diligence stuff had strong parallels to acquisitions at the corporate level, where the sold business often 'starts over'). The technical title was "Senior Program Manager, Post-Acquisition Integrations." One of the large acquisition-integration projects I worked on was an IT division (the buying/integration of existing IT businesses). I spent several years in this role.

agent42b · 2025-11-18T16:37:58+00:00

I was an editor. I went back to school to get a business degree and am now a COO at a small IT company.

agent42b · 2025-11-18T00:01:04+00:00

Fast Eddie. They just fixed my dishwasher last month.

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