A film course especially designed for technical communication students can illustrate basic film concepts and techniques while showing how film effectively communicates ideas in an industrial and scientific communication system. After a basic introduction to film terms, the study of actual scientific and industrial films demonstrates the following film concepts: composition and movement; the realism and credibility that sound adds to the message; the use of creative editing to simulate action too dangerous or costly for the camera; and the manipulation of time and space, particularly through the use of animation, to explain concepts or demonstrate actions that cannot be filmed. A film course can also highlight other important elements involved in using films for science and industry, such as the importance of audience analysis to determine the particular concerns and background of the target audience, persuasion and motivational factors that the use of film offers, and the typical film problems of subject matter, lighting, and non-actors. Science films present special problems for study in that they often simply record technical material, have no sound track, and allow little, if any, editing. (MAI)