Movie Making

[Hatori]

Hello!
Well, as a tradition for my peers every school year, I make a movie as a gift for my teachers and classmates.
So, for this year, I've been thinking of actually using students as actors and actresses for my movie because in my previous movies I've used The Sims 2 and clips from animes to make music video things.
I was wondering, if you had any hearty advice to give to me on how to make a good movie. There are so many elements to creating something good, I just wanted to hear what you had to say to help me do well.

[Tspoonami]

Use iMovie if you can, because Movie Maker sucks on the slime of dead sea cucumbers.

[Hatori]

Tspoonami wrote:
Use iMovie if you can, because Movie Maker sucks on the slime of dead sea cucumbers.

I definately AGREE with you. It's my only resource though.
Is iMovie an apple product? Is it free?