Make sure your dialogue is easy to understand. It’s one thing to have a character with a weird accent or feature to make him interesting; it’s another to make him incomprehensible. Unless he’s supposed to be that way (like Farmer Fran in The Waterboy, for example), either change the dialogue or the actor’s delivery so audiences don’t get frustrated.

Don’t underestimate the power of monologues and narration. Though you may find them dull, they have done wonderful things in movies like The Shawshank Redemption and Of Mice and Men.

Make the dialogue interesting. If it’s slow, be sure it has a stirring point (such as Tommy Lee Jones’s lines in No Country for Old Men). Nobody wants to watch a movie where a girl sits around talking about eating toast all day. Unless your characters are detectives, make them stumble upon revelations the way real people do–not directly question their family and friends. Beat around the bush to create drama, but not to the point where it gets tiresome.

Let your characters lie–particularly if they are liars! Average people lie–mostly little lies–every day. If your character is really depressed in a scene, he may lie about it to a parent, saying he feels fine or even great. This will provide a very realistic element to your film.

Here are just a few tips to follow when guiding your actors through their dialogue.

Maintain consistency. If your movie takes place in Ireland and your actors have their Irish accents down perfectly, great! Just keep in mind that these accents will have to be maintained throughout the entire film. If Mr. O’Brien is going on about his potatoes in one scene and then suddenly drops the accent when he sees an alien on his farm, it’s going to be very distracting for your viewers.

Cut all unneeded dialogue. If it doesn’t serve a purpose in the film, it doesn’t need to be in it–period. The four main purposes of dialogue are to move the plot along, to explain character, to provide relevant past history or to show feelings you can’t show otherwise. Be sure that your dialogue does at least one of these things before filming the scene.

The same goes for words that are being used when you don’t need them. Unless you have a really poetic way of saying, “I like you” or “I’m so mad!” just go with the character’s actions to convey these words instead. The effect will be much more powerful, whereas using overused words will just make it appear lackluster.

Edit dialogue so that it will flow smoothly. If your actor can’t get a breath in while delivering an epic sentence, it’s probably best to cut the sentence down a bit.

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.

Fortunately there are still ways to learn about filmmaking. While it doesn’t result in a degree of any kind, Wikiversity’s filmmaking class can be an invaluable resource for movie makers just starting out in the industry. And since it’s free, there’s no excuse to not learn a thing or two from it. The cost of the program’s discs can even be avoided if the student chooses to borrow from the instructor rather than purchase them.

The instructor also provides links to free resources to be used throughout the course.

“Filmmaking is not rocket science. Everything about filmmaking is extremely easy to learn. Anyone can do it if they wish,” proclaims the course website.

However, it warns that, while easy, there is a lot to learn. Even those with quick learning skills can take years to learn the nuances of filmmaking; it’s almost a process of learning the basics for 20 separate jobs.

Created for dramatic motion pictures, the series of courses includes basic filmmaking, film editing, film scoring, scriptwriting, and studio animation.

Students in the course will be expected to produce a short film with a length of less than a minute. According to the course instructor, the course is an excellent step to take in preparing for film school. And with a typical number of 800 applicants seeking only 50 available seats, it can’t hurt to have an edge.

That’s where the Filmmaking.net FAQ comes in. Whether your question is about financing or film school, music or marketing, they’ve got an answer for you.And if they don’t have an answer, they have a place where you can submit your question to be answered by their team of experts.

It’s one of the oldest filmmaking resources on the Internet. Created in 1994, it has over 150 Frequently Asked Questions and their answers to help fledgling filmmakers get their start when they don’t have a professional’s personal advice to heed.

The FAQ is organized easily into categories, such as Actors & Casting and Film School & Career. Questions can also be found using the feed of latest questions as well as most popular questions asked.

The old adage “There is no such thing as a stupid question” comes to play here, too. Questions like “How do I make my video look like a film?” and “Which camera should I buy?” are some very popular ones that the site answers.

And best of all–these answers are free!

And for the people out there who already know their stuff when it comes to movie making, there are unanswered questions on the site available for answering as well.

For proof that money doesn’t make the man–or in this case, the film–look no further than these masterpieces created with plenty of creativity–and without much money.Following: Before Christopher Nolan was renowned for his stylish and intricate interpretations of Batman, he created this black and white thriller. The film is about a man who finds himself drawn into a world of crime by simply following people around London. A simple technique and a smart script make this film a low-budget masterpiece.

El Mariarchi: Yet another thriller, Robert Rodriguez’s independent movie is one of the most famous low-budget films of all time. With only $7,000 and nearly every scene shot in a single take, this opus opened the door for films like Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Desperado.

Napoleon Dynamite: Who could ever forget dorky liger-expert Napoleon Dynamite, his faithful sidekick Pedro and the rest of the cast of this sleeper comedy hit? This film, which grossed over 100 times its own budget, launched John Heder’s acting career.

Clerks: A cult following of this film that exists to this day proves the success of Kevin Smith’s offbeat dark comedy about two slacker clerks and a day in their lives. Nearly completed in a single location and shot in black and white, it’s yet one more example in a long series of successful low-budget, simple but effective films.

Depending on your style, you may wish to create a text storyboard or a visual one, which would include drawings or pictures to represent each scene.

To begin your storyboard, get a cork board, magnetized board, or other bulletin board. It should be large enough to fully display 10 index cards in a straight row. You’ll also need plenty of tacks for the cards.

You may have two or three rows on your board, depending on how many acts are in your film. Each row should represent a full act. Take a card and write your first scene on it, using a memorable title (or the slug line corresponding to the scene from the screenplay). That will be your first card on your storyboard. Hang it in the first row, or act.

Repeat this process for each scene until each scene has its own card. Your storyboard is ready to use!

Now, to actually use the storyboard: Go over each scene with your team. Make sure each scene flows into the next, and identify any gaps in the plot, missing scenes, or anything else that looks like it might cause trouble.

Once you’ve identified these problem spots, move your cards around, add new ones, or subtract cards that don’t make sense anymore. Do whatever is necessary to polish your story until it’s perfect.

After you’ve done this, you can write out the story (or draw the scenes if you prefer) and you’re ready to go.

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.

Still, if you really care about making sure your film is green, here are some tips to follow.Waste not. Use everything you’ve got–and don’t pitch it. Hold onto it for your next film. Think you won’t be making a movie about possessed demon fairies again? Donate the dresses to a secondhand store or a school theater department.

Eat green. Have everyone use reusable bottles and ban Styrofoam from the set. Will you seem like an eccentric, demanding director? Yes–and all the better. Why not develop a trademark of the demanding environmentalist rather than the shoe-thrower, the crybaby, or the soul eater?

Carpool. Have everyone share rides, use public transportation when possible, and definitely walk when it’s safe and feasible.

Use special effects whenever possible. Rather than wasting materials, chopping down trees, or setting things ablaze, use special effects to “fake” it.

Leave nothing behind. When you leave your set, have everyone pick up after themselves. Bring along a recycling container if you have one–and definitely a canister for garbage.

And when you make it to the Big Time, your budget at your mercy, be sure to continue  your green film making with these tips.