AKTA INTERVIEWS: WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE YOUR OWN SHORT FILM WITH EMMA SUTHERLAND & BECCA WATSON

Writer: Takunda Muzondiwa

Three's A Crowd (2026)

“Make your own work” 

If actors were paid a pound for every time we heard it, we would be financing cinematic universes so vast they would make Marvel Cinematic Universe look like a student showcase, outspend Star Wars, and give Barbie a run for its perfectly pink money.

Instead, what most of us have are fragments.

A Notes app crowded with half formed monologues. A title without a plot. A plot without an ending. Dialogue scribbled on a bright pink sticky note now curling at the corners at the bottom of a tote bag. Blue ink fading on the back of a hand, written in haste between taking orders at a café job, the words slowly dissolving with each rinse of soapy water. Ideas alive in theory but stalled in practice. Not for lack of hunger. Not for lack of imagination. But because somewhere between the spark and the screen sits a mountain of logistics that can turn even the boldest artist still.

Last month, I sat in a sold out premiere watching Two actors who decided not to wait for those answers to magically appear. Emma Sutherland and Becca Watson wrote, produced, directed and starred in their debut short film Three’s A Crowd. They chose action over hesitation.

What makes their story even more fitting is that filmmaking had already been simmering beneath the surface. Both Emma and Becca had been creating on YouTube for years, building their own audiences, shaping their own visual language, quietly making what felt like mini films in the margins of their acting careers. Becca first discovered Emma through her videos. Emma then began watching Becca’s. Admiration turned into conversation. Conversation turned into collaboration. Before long, they were no longer just consuming each other’s work, but co-creating their own.

Emma Sutherland & Becca Watson X AKTA

We first met Emma in 2024 through Akta's Pay What You Can Headshots initiative.

when she came in for headshots in 2024. Since then, seeing her step into filmmaking alongside Becca has been a powerful reminder that the actors in our community are not waiting around. They are building. We are always proud to follow and support that growth.

I sat down with Emma and Becca to ask the question so many actors quietly hold. What does it really take to stop waiting and actually make your own work?

AKTA: When did you both realise that waiting was no longer enough, and that you actually wanted to make your own film?

EMMA SUTHERLAND: I think for both of us there had been past attempts to create things with other people that had not quite worked out. Either expectations did not align or the momentum just fizzled. So when Becca proposed making a short film, I remember feeling this huge sense of relief. I had been waiting for someone to genuinely want to make something with me. I always felt like I was the one saying, let’s create something, and it never quite materialised.

I think we were both just ready to stop waiting to be cast in something and instead create our own opportunity. And honestly, we just wanted to have fun. Making things is fun. We both had that same drive and that same energy, and at some point you realise you just have to do it.

BECCA WATSON: The year before we made the film, I’d acted in about seven short projects. I learned so much from being on those sets, from really small shoots to much more ambitious ones. But by the end of that year, I just felt this itch. I remember thinking, I could do this. I want to try it my own way.

Three's A Crowd (2026) directed by Emma Sutherland & Becca Watson

AKTA: Why Three’s A Crowd? What made this the story you both wanted to tell?

EMMA SUTHERLAND: Ironically, I had once tried to make a film about a friendship breakup with someone who then stopped speaking to me. Which felt… fitting.

But that experience stayed with me. That feeling of never really understanding what happened. How did it end. What did I do. Why did we outgrow each other.. I remember joking to Becca, if we make this film about friendship and then you stop being my friend, I’ll be furious. That is kind of where it began.

BECCA WATSON: As soon as Emma mentioned friendship, it clicked. Of course. Every woman can relate to that in some way. But we rarely see it as the central focus. And especially not without it revolving around a man. We have seen that version enough.

For us it was more about outgrowing each other. That slow shift. The quiet grief of realising someone who once felt essential to your life now fits differently. We are young and are living through that constantly. Friends moving cities. Changing paths. Growing in different directions.

It also tied into this sense of London loneliness. That feeling of being surrounded by people and still feeling slightly adrift. It felt very current to us. Not just personal, but generational.

AKTA: What did it cost — financially, emotionally, relationally — to get this film made?

BECCA WATSON: It was a huge commitment. And it had to be. We both knew from the beginning that this would not work unless we were willing to give up a lot of time. That was the biggest cost, honestly. Even more than money.

Emma Sutherland & Becca Watson X AKTA

Financially, there was no funding. It was completely out of pocket. When I filled out the IMDb page recently, you have to estimate the budget, and ours came to around one thousand pounds. And that is probably more than some debut shorts. I have heard of people making their first film for three hundred pounds. But we were very intentional about where that money went.

A big part of our mission was to prove that you can make something without waiting for funding. Obviously funding exists, but it often comes with waiting, applications, conditions, and sometimes creative compromise. We wanted to see what would happen if we just said, let’s do this with what we have. We did not even really set a formal budget. It was more like, let’s try to make this as close to no budget as possible and be smart about it.

What surprised me most was how many people wanted to help. We had friends offering up their homes as locations for free. People volunteering their Saturdays. People saying, ‘just tell me when and where’. If you have a strong support network, people genuinely want to see you succeed.

And because it was a short film, we could design it around that generosity. We wrote to our resources. No overly ambitious sets. No impossible locations. The scale of the story matched what we could realistically access.

So yes, it cost us money. It cost us time. It cost us evenings and weekends. But it also showed us that if you are willing to ask, be transparent, and work within your means, it is far more possible than it first appears.

Emma Sutherland & Becca Watson X AKTA

AKTA: For actors reading this who feel overwhelmed by the technical side, what would you say about equipment? What is actually necessary?

BECCA WATSON: I have seen incredible short films shot entirely on a phone. If you have talent and a clear creative voice, you can absolutely make something work.

We were lucky in that we already owned cameras because of YouTube. I shot on a Sony A7C. It is a beautiful full frame camera, but it is not a cinema camera. The footage does not look like a Netflix production. And that is okay.

We leaned heavily into natural light. That is something we both learned from YouTube. You do not always need an elaborate lighting setup. We invested in one coloured tube light for atmosphere, and Emma had box lights she originally bought to level up her self tapes. So even the equipment we did purchase felt multipurpose. We knew we would use it again.

But honestly, if I could say one thing to actors, it would be this. Sound matters more than almost anything. Sound is everything.

EMMA SUTHERLAND: We also had small clip on mics as backup, especially for outdoor scenes. We barely used that audio in the final cut, but having it gave us peace of mind.

We know we were fortunate. Because we were already creating online, we had some equipment to begin with. Not everyone will. But you can rent. You can collaborate with a DOP who has their own kit. You can write to what you have.

That was the biggest lesson. Write to your resources.

At AKTA, we are constantly inspired by actors in our community who refuse to remain static. From headshot sessions to sold out premieres, it is a privilege to witness that evolution. You can watch Three’s A Crowd by clicking the link below: 

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THREE’S A CROWD