A.D. = Assistant Director, they are the person that tracks the actual progress of filming against the set production schedule and they prepare the call sheets. Basically, they are the task master that makes sure everyone on the crew is on time and where they are supposed to be.

Above the Line = This term originally applied to movie budgets. On a film budget, listed above a dark line on the page is the money for creative talent: actors, writers, directors and producers. The term still applies to budgets, but now it's used to say 'creative talent'. So, 'above the line' refers to actors, writers, directors and producers.

Affil = television network affiliated station, i.e. your local tv affiliate (they produce your local news).

AFTRA = American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. National labor union that is for performers, journalists and other artists working in entertainment and news.

AMPAS = Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (they host the Oscars).

Ankle = means you left your job or you closed your company. "Tom Sawyer ankled his post as President of Production at Paramount."

Arthouse = movie theater that shows foreign, independent and non-mainstream films.

B.O. = box office = movie tickets that are sold. "The box office for STAR WARS is into the millions."

Backdoor Pilot = pilot episode of a tv show that works as a stand alone tv movie, but has the potential to be turned into an episodic tv show. If enough people watch the stand alone TV movie and it gets good ratings, the network will order it as a tv series. A recent example of this is BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

Biopic = biographical film.

Biz = shorthand for 'show buisness'. Also referred to as 'the business'.

Blurb = tv commercial.

BOFF or BOFFO or BOFFLA = refers to high box office performance. "TRANSFORMERS was BOFFO at the B.O."

Boom = overhead microphone used to record actors' voices.

Bow = opening or premiere of a movie. "THERE WILL BE BLOOD's bow was in January."

Cliffhanger = dramatic, adventure or suspense tv show or film with a 'to be continued' ending. LOST is a good tv example of this.

Coin = money or financing for a film or tv show. "The producers put up the coin and production is moving forward."

D.P. = Director of Photography

DGA = Directors Guild of America. A labor union for film and tv directors, assistant directors and unit production managers.

Distrib = distributor. "Universal Pictures is the distrib on the project."

Doc = documentary

Dramedy = movie or tv show that has characteristics of drama and comedy genres.

Exec = executive at a studio or production company.

Exhib = exhibitor or movie theater owner.

F/X = visual effects in film or tv.

Feature = motion picture.

Green Lit = refers to a project moving into production. "After years of development, the script has been green lit by the studio."

Green Light = go-ahead for a film to be made.

Helm = (verb) to direct a film or TV program. "Stephen Spielberg helmed E.T."

In the Can = director has the take he/she wants.

Indie = independent film, filmmaker or producer (usually means the project is funded outside the studio).

Ink = (verb) to sign a contract.

Legit = live theater.

Legs = a film's ability to do well at the box office over a period of time. If a film has a high box office for 6 weeks in a row then, 'the film has legs."

Lense = (verb) to film a motion picture.

Longform = tv programming that goes over an hour. Usually it refers to a tv movie or miniseries.

Major = any of the six major film studios (Disney, Paramount, Sony, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Warner Brothers).

Mini = tv miniseries.

Mini-Major = smaller divisions of the studios that function as independent production companies (i.e. New Line)

Mouse House = Walt Disney Studios

MOW = Movie of the Week

MPAA = Motion Picture Association of America (they oversee the movie rating system).

Niche Programming = tv programming that goes after a specific demographic or interest (i.e. The History Channel, TheTravel Channel, etc.)

Percenter or Tenpercenter = an agent

Percentery or Tenpercentery = an agency

PGA = Producers Guild of America

Pinkslip = to lay off or fire from a job

Pitch = anything from a one-line description to a full treatment of a project.

Post-Production = The editing, scoring and special effects stage of a film or tv show.

Pre-Production = The stage of a film or tv show where the project is prepped to go into production. A final polish is done on the script, locations are chosen and actors are cast.

Pre-Sales = territorial sales of planned film distribution worldwide. This is how most independent films raise their coin. They sell distribution rights to the film in Ireland, the UK, Japan, etc. and then use the money from those sales to fund the production of the film.

Preem = opening night of a film.

Prexy = president of a studio or production company.

Production = The filming of a movie or tv show.

Put Pilot = A deal to produce a tv pilot that includes substantial penalties to the network if the pilot is not aired (i.e. if you get this deal with the network, they will air your pilot no matter what.)

SAG = The Screen Actors Guild, the labor union for film and TV actors.

Scribbler = a writer.

Scripter = screenwriter.

Shingle = a small business that is set up by an established talent or a larger company.

Showrunner = executive producer of a television series. The head writer/producer in tv.

Slug Line = a line in a screenplay that tells the reader that the story has changed in location or time. It tells the reader where and when the action appears and the line comprises three parts: 1)INT. or EXT. - is the scene an interior or exterior scene? 2) Location - where does the action takes place? 3) DAY or NIGHT - what is the time of day? (i.e. INT. HOUSE -DAY)

Skein = tv series.

Sleeper = a film that no one in the business paid attention to and received very little publicity, but ended up making a lot of money at the box office.

Spec Script = a script shopped on the market instead of being comissioned by a studio or production company (i.e. written for free in the hopes that someone will buy it).

Theatrical = feature-length motion picture.

Turnaround = a project that was bought by a studio and the project sits on the shelf. The studio gives up on the project and lets it be shopped around to other studios.

Upfront = commercial time sold in advance of the tv season.

Voiceover = offscreen narration.

WGA = Wrtiers Guild of America. The labor union for screen and television writers.

Wrap = to finish production.