Chainani says aspiring filmmakers no longer need film school merely to learn the craft; they need to make work. If they do enroll, he recommends USC or possibly UCLA because proximity to studios, working professors, and industry connections matches the current studio-centered market.

Independent film offered more viable pathways when Chainani attended Columbia
Many former independent filmmakers moved toward television
Southern California schools provide direct studio proximity
Making work matters more than acquiring the credential

“only get go to film school if you can get into USC”
Soman Chainani · 1:18:00

“I don't think you need to go to film school I think you just need to to make work”
Soman Chainani · 1:19:30

#film school#usc#career advice#filmmaking

Explainer· 3

Explainer32:00

The Gap Between Disney and Grimm Created The School for Good and Evil

A childhood spent repeatedly watching Disney gave Chainani one model of fairy tales. Harvard professor Maria Tatar later exposed him to darker Grimm stories where choices carried consequences, and the contrast became a foundation for his series.

Disney tapes were Chainani's main childhood entertainment
The original Grimm stories were darker and less predictable
Older tales did not guarantee the hero's victory
Chainani wanted children to question simplified ideas of good and evil

“Disney at some level infected every cell of my brain”
Soman Chainani · 33:00

“that gap between the the Disney stories I grew up with and I took so seriously and the real fairy tales is where the skull…”
Soman Chainani · 33:30

#disney#fairy tales#grimm#school for good and evil

Explainer48:00

Why Middle-Grade Fantasy Often Crosses Over to Adults

Chainani distinguishes middle-grade fantasy from young-adult fiction, which he says often targets teenage romance and melodrama. Series such as Harry Potter begin accessibly enough for younger readers and then deepen, allowing children to grow with them while adult readers find larger themes.

Chainani classifies His Dark Materials as middle grade
Middle-grade fantasy can pursue high-stakes themes
The first installment must remain accessible to younger readers
Later books can become progressively deeper and harder

“middle grade is where you find the books that really transcend to adults as well”
Soman Chainani · 49:00

“the first book has to be a little younger that's why the first Harry Potter book so they can grow into the rest of the…”
Soman Chainani · 50:30

#middle grade#young adult#fantasy#publishing

Explainer1:05:00

Chainani's Meditation Searches for the Sense of Self to Release It

For 15 minutes, Chainani tries to locate the felt center of conscious will—the sense of “I” in his body and thoughts. He treats that self-conscious energy as accumulated anger, frustration, and control, then aims to let it go into empty space.

The practice was influenced by the Tao Te Ching
Chainani looks for the felt location of the self
He associates conscious control with interference
The intended state is empty space rather than more thought

“it's 15 minutes of trying to find the eye that sort of energy that makes up that conscious will”
Soman Chainani · 1:06:00

“what you really want is empty space”
Soman Chainani · 1:07:30

#meditation#ego#tao te ching#awareness

Story· 2

Story14:30

Coming Out Unlocked the Creative Self Chainani Had Hidden

Chainani says he expected a conventional business career until coming out during his senior year of college. He felt that his creative identity had been confined alongside his sexuality, and both began to emerge together.

Chainani came out during his senior year of college
He had expected to enter consulting or banking
Coming out coincided with the return of his creative ambitions
He now gravitates toward creative people who seem bottled up

“it was only after I came out that I think my creative self came back”
Soman Chainani · 15:30

“it was almost like that had gone in the closet too”
Soman Chainani · 15:30

#identity#coming out#creativity#career

Story1:35:30

The Skin-Microbiome Experiment That Ended Chainani's Acne

After years of treatments, Chainani became an early user of AO Biome's bacterial skin spray, later sold as Mother Dirt. He says he stopped using conventional soap and creams, saw clear skin within three days, and continued using the product for years; this is his personal experience, not a clinical recommendation.

Earlier acne treatments included antibiotics, creams, and soaps
The spray was designed to restore bacteria associated with healthy skin
Chainani paired it with avoiding ordinary soap
He reported that his skin remained clear even during brief periods without the spray

“within three days my skin was clear and I've been using it three and a half years”
Soman Chainani · 1:38:00

“to realize that the problems you were chasing for 10 years or more than that could be solved by your own body”
Soman Chainani · 1:38:30

#mother dirt#skin microbiome#acne#personal experiment

Q&A· 1

Q&A1:08:30

Use a Trainer When You Need a Push or Cannot See Your Own Form

Ferriss trains alone when exercise serves as meditation, but uses a coach for technical movements where errors carry a high cost. Chainani hires trainers because fear makes him stop before weights become heavy, and outsourcing control gives him one part of the day when he is not in charge.

Solo training can provide quiet and present-moment focus
Technical lifts benefit from an external set of eyes
A trainer can counter fear-based underexertion
Coaching can temporarily remove the burden of directing the session

“what you think you're doing is probably not what you're doing at least in the beginning”
Tim Ferriss · 1:10:00

“it lets me have one moment of the day when I'm not in charge”
Soman Chainani · 1:12:00

#coaching#training#form#exercise

Takeaway· 4

Takeaway36:30

Study Your Heroes Until Their Weaknesses Reveal Your Opening

Chainani says sustained study of Walt Disney eventually exposed limitations as well as brilliance. Seeing those flaws humanized the idol and showed where Chainani could contribute a distinct voice rather than imitate him.

Deep admiration can coexist with critical study
A hero's weaknesses make exceptional achievement feel human
Unaddressed limitations can reveal room for a new voice
Disappointment can become creative permission

“once you started admiring someone and and studying them you start to see their flaws”
Soman Chainani · 36:30

“you realize their weaknesses you think oh wait I can I can come in here with my own voice”
Soman Chainani · 36:30

#heroes#creative voice#walt disney#originality

Takeaway55:00

A Small Base of Passionate Readers Can Become the Marketing Force

Chainani prioritized intensity of fandom over maximizing the initial reader count. Because his core audience was too young for much mainstream social media, his team built an interactive site with moderated chats, contests, games, and direct daily answers from the author.

Passion can matter more than the first wave's size
Young readers required a dedicated community rather than a Twitter-first strategy
The site included 18 moderated chat rooms
Chainani spent about half an hour daily answering fan questions

“the way to to make a success is not necessarily to have the most reader straight off the bat but to have the most passionate…”
Soman Chainani · 55:30

“I go on half an hour a day and answer them all”
Soman Chainani · 56:30

#fan community#audience#books#engagement

Takeaway1:28:00

Creative Process Documentaries Reveal the Bad Work Behind Mastery

Chainani prefers documentaries that observe artists working without heavy editorial explanation. Watching rehearsal, choreography, fashion, or production makes visible the awkward early attempts and repeated corrections that polished final work conceals.

Chainani recommends Ballet 422 for an unfiltered view of choreography
Theater of War shows Meryl Streep rehearsing
Early creative work can resemble bad acting or bad writing
Process footage makes persistence visible

“how much of writing in the beginning how much of acting in the beginning all of it is bad”
Soman Chainani · 1:33:00

#creative process#documentaries#rehearsal#mastery

Takeaway1:50:00

Meditate on Death and Look at the Stars to Restore Perspective

Chainani imagines consciousness ending as a way to remember that life is short and can stop without warning. Looking at the night sky adds a cosmic frame: human life is an improbable opportunity rather than something guaranteed a larger meaning.

Chainani sometimes imagines the transition from consciousness to nothing
Mortality makes immediate life feel more valuable
The night sky highlights the improbability of life on Earth
Both practices lead him toward gratitude and action

“trying to understand that your life is short and it's going to end and it can end at any minute so take advantage”
Soman Chainani · 1:50:30

“the fact that you know you got to have a life in the first place compared to the sort of Infinity of the universe is…”
Soman Chainani · 1:51:00

#mortality#perspective#stars#gratitude

Frameworks in this episode

Anchor-and-Funnel Scheduling

Aptitude-First Career Filter

Creator-Controlled Adaptation

Separate Art from Income

Technique Before Competition

Insights & moments

◆Hot Take· 1

Film School Is Worth It Only When It Connects You to the Industry

✶Explainer· 3