{"podcast":{"title":"Show Don't Tell: Micro-Budget Filmmaking","slug":"show-don-t-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking-809490","podcast_index_feed_id":809490,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/5470278/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/show-dont-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/d13f89e884537189f8742264eab84f72.jpg","author":"Noam Kroll","episode_count":279,"summary":"Each week, filmmaker Noam Kroll shares valuable insight into the world of micro-budget filmmaking, geared towards true DIY filmmakers looking to get out there and create their own films.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-25T18:20:15.435777+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/show-don-t-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking-809490"},"episode":{"title":"Making A $2000 Feature, Landing Vanishing Angle & Getting Into the Blacklist Project Lab - With Nathan Xia","slug":"making-a-2000-feature-landing-vanishing-angle-getting-into-the-blacklist-project-lab-with-nathan-xia","published_at":"2026-05-08T22:02:29+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/show-don-t-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking-809490/making-a-2000-feature-landing-vanishing-angle-getting-into-the-blacklist-project-lab-with-nathan-xia","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/show-don-t-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking-809490","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/making-a-2000-feature-landing-vanishing-angle-getting-into-the-blacklist-project-lab-with-nathan-xia--71930604","audio_url":"https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/71930604/show_dont_tell_ep272.mp3","summary":"In this episode, I'm joined by actor, filmmaker, and musician Nathan Xia to talk about his unconventional path into the industry - from making YouTube sketches with a flip camera to acting in studio projects, getting repped as both an actor and writer-director, and developing his deeply personal feature Adam's Song. Throughout the conversation Nathan shares how he fell into acting out of necessity while co-directing a scrappy COVID road trip feature with his roommates, and how that unexpected pivot eventually led to representation, festival success, and a role in Danny Madden's Downbeat . He also breaks down the relentless hustle behind landing his producer at Vanishing Angle, getting into the Blacklist Project Lab after 14 rejections, and signing with management company M88 - all before turning 26. Topics covered include: How Nathan discovered filmmaking through a flip camera and YouTube sketches Making a $2,000 road trip feature across six states during COVID Falling into acting out of necessity - and finding it on the festival circuit Cold-emailing his way to representation at Momentum Talent Agency How attending festivals (not just submitting) changed his career Landing veteran indie producer Benjamin Wiesner through responsiveness and rewrites Going 0-for-14 on labs and fellowships before getting into the Blacklist Project Lab Developing the feature version of Adam's Song and scouting in West Texas Why being a writer-director-actor gives him a unique advantage in attaching talent Much more! Follow Nathan on Instagram Sign up for my newsletter for exclusive filmmaking insight each Sunday","meta_description":"In this episode, I'm joined by actor, filmmaker, and musician Nathan Xia to talk about his unconventional path into the industry - from making YouTube ske…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4371,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/show-don-t-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking-809490/episodes/making-a-2000-feature-landing-vanishing-angle-getting-into-the-blacklist-project-lab-with-nathan-xia/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/show-don-t-tell-micro-budget-filmmaking-809490/making-a-2000-feature-landing-vanishing-angle-getting-into-the-blacklist-project-lab-with-nathan-xia.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}