Walk a mile in your lead’s shoes. Or rather, make your audience walk in them. If your character is a serial rapist in jail, your audience may not have much empathy for him; engage the audience by showing things from his point of view, such as in flashbacks of a difficult life or in a current abusive situation while in prison.

Give the camera a human quality. In short, let it stand for the audience’s eyes. Instead of focusing on only the important elements in the room, let it naturally glance around as if the audience is actually in the scene, too. Make them feel as if they are uncovering the surprise elements on their own without your help.

Capitalize on what you can’t see. This can be particularly helpful in scary movies, where things the audience isn’t able to see can be just as scary, if not scarier, remaining unknown rather than in every scene. Focus on sound, character reaction, and other elements when using this technique to really draw the audience in and have them on the edge of their seats.

Use a simple storyline. Though complicated tales can be interesting, they often lose the viewer’s interest early on. The idea isn’t to make the audience work to understand the movie; it’s to make them enjoy the movie by providing an escape from reality.

Give your characters plenty of scene time. This might sound obvious, but instead of focusing on a dynamic film wrapped around a couple of characters, why not focus on the characters themselves? Give them dramatic, unique personalities with layered backgrounds and lives, and let them play out these extraordinary lives in lots of clever dialog and interaction.

Interact with your audience. While you certainly can’t create a quiz for them to fill out while they watch your movie (or can you? People voted for Shrek Idol, after all…), you can put yourself in the viewer’s shoes. What would cause your audience to scream, cry, get angry? It’s just as if you were writing a novel–if you cry, your audience will cry. Keep that in mind when you create your movie as an entire experience.

Keep them begging for more. Hold back key details as long as you can. Now, this can go both ways: don’t make your audience angry by not letting them know what the heck is going on. Instead, keep teasing them so they won’t figure the whole thing out until the end, a technique used in films like Mystic River and The Sixth Sense.

Provide variations in proximity. Alfred Hitchcock liked to use close-ups as well as pan out far away from his actors to create different feelings during a movie. Use these every time you want to either create a very emotional scene or a feeling of detachment.

The good news is that a green screen can be made very cheaply. For about $40 you can make your own.

First, gather your materials. You’ll need four pieces of PVC pipe (about ten feet in length each, just to be on the safe side), four end caps, four pipe tees, a saw, two ninety-degree elbows, glue, about five yards of green fabric, two pipe connectors, and six clamps.

Determine the height that you want your green screen to be. Get two PVC pipes and cut them to this height.

Then, cut them both in half and add a pipe connector in the center of each one. (This may seem like a redundant step, but it’s to make your screen transportable.)

Obtain another PVC pipe. Cut it into two equal lengths, about four inches shorter than your green cloth. Cut your last pipe into four parts, all the same length, to make the screen’s stand. Put two of them together with one of your pipe tees, and then put the other two together the same way so you’ll have two pairs. Place the end caps on the open ends to seal them shut.

With the PVC pipe you’ve got leftover, cut two sections out to use as spacers. These should be about six inches in length. Add these to the pipe tees.

Glue the couplers to to one section of the pipe, and put all of your pieces together to make the screen frame. Add the green fabric by using the clamps to attach it to the sides and top of the frame. Stretch it across tightly to ensure no wrinkles result on screen, and you’re ready to use it.

When you’re finished, you can easily disassemble the screen and move it to your next location.

Increase Your Space: If you’ve got a limited set but need a much bigger area, try this. Have your actor walk (or run, depending on what you’re filming) toward you, and simply repeat the clip over and over again. If you need variations, mark the spot he or she started in and film it again, editing the clips together afterward.

Fake Weather: Instead of getting your equipment all wet, use a hose with a spray-nozzle to make rain. Rent a snow machine for icy scenes, and use a large fan to create a windy day.

Stab Someone: Keep your actors safe with this fake-stabbing technique. With the assailant/murderer/stabber standing further away from the camera, have him or her “stab” the air behind his or her “victim.” Have the victim act as if he or she has actually been stabbed, of course. Cut to a close-up to the victim’s face, then add the sword under his or her arm, as if it has really been impaled there. Commence direction as you want the scene to play out–the victim to fall, the assailant to remove the sword–and simply edit the film when it’s finished to flow smoothly.

Monster-Making: If you can’t afford a monster costume (they usually look pretty unrealistic anyway, unless specially made for your film), buy some liquid latex. For under fifty bucks you can create scar tissue, fat, scary faces, wrinkles and whatever you need for your monster–or even for characters who just need new looks for the roles they are playing.

Here are some very simple and very cheap ways to complete the special effects you’re after.Fake Blood: Mix clear corn syrup, red food coloring, and a little bit of milk (so it’s not transparent)–and voila! Your own fake blood, at your fingertips, without having spent any. Add some purple food coloring if you wish for a darker effect.

Head-On Collision: Rather than making your actors run straight into a vehicle or other object, use this trick: Using a steady hand, film the actor slowly moving toward the object with a wide shot. Move your camera very slowly behind the object, and as the actor slowly continues to move forward, move the camera to the side of the object. Have your actor (still moving slowly) bump his head against the tree and pull back very quickly, as if he or she had hit it very hard. When you’re finished, simply edit the whole scene by speeding it up.

Exploding Objects: Rather than blowing up expensive equipment (or being put on a wanted list for making bombs), try this technique. Using a normal shot, tilt your camera at an angle. Have your actors (or just people hanging around your set) throw a bunch of trash into the frame to make it look like something has blown up. Use a smoke machine  to add credibility to the falling debris. When you’re finished, add sound effects.