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[ Field manual · 6 entries ]

The field manual.

How we actually run things, written down. Each entry opens with the short answer.

  1. 01How do a few people run two companies with agents?Operations / 01Short answerAlterra runs two companies, Alterra Studio and Alterra Editions, with a few people and a crew of software agents it built itself. The agents do scheduled work such as research, production, checks, publishing and analytics, and people decide money, contracts, accounts, direction and standards.Read the entry →
  2. 02Why the checker never buildsQuality / 02Short answerAlterra's quality rule is that whoever reviews a film or design must not be whoever built it. Builders score their own work one to two points too high, so a Then & Theory film is posted only after automated checks pass and a separate critic approves it.Read the entry →
  3. 03How to sponsor an educational filmSponsors / 03Short answerAlterra Editions offers four ways to sponsor a Then & Theory history film: underwrite one film, partner on a series, take an end card, or license a clean version. Sponsors choose the topic area and get reports as unedited screenshots from the platform's own analytics, and the research decides what the film says.Read the entry →
  4. 04Licensing educational films: what to ask forLicensing / 04Short answerTo license an educational film from Alterra Editions, ask for a clean master without text, voice or sponsor reads, plus captions, the source list, a rights record for every scan and sound, and a note of which steps used AI tools. Then agree on platforms, term, territory and exclusivity in writing.Read the entry →
  5. 05How Then & Theory sources its 3D history films (retired pipeline)Sources / 05Short answerThen & Theory builds each 3D history film from cited sources: published studies, museum records and open-access scans from collections such as the Met and the Smithsonian. Sources are listed with each film, reconstructions are labeled as such, and Alterra says which production steps use AI tools.Read the entry →
  6. 06We run what we sellEssay / 06Short answerAlterra runs its own companies, Alterra Studio and Alterra Editions, on the same tools and process it uses for clients. We call this the Proving Ground: the team lives with the results of its own work.Read the entry →