Who to Credit - DVD or Film
Many people can be involved in the production of a video and not all need to be listed in the citation. Typically the director, producer and/or writer are the names that are used. To clarify what role the person has in the production, their job title such as Director is put after their name in round brackets if the job title is known.
Who to Credit - Streaming Video from a Website
For videos from websites such as YouTube or Vimeo, credit the person who posted the content. If a real name is provided, use that followed by the person's user name in square brackets. If the real name of the person who posted the content is not known, just use their user name without brackets.
Note: All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.
A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.
Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. of person who posted the video if known. [User name that posted the video] . (Year video was posted, Month Day). Title of video [Video file]. Retrieved from URL
Note: According to APA, for citing purposes the person who posted the video is credited as the author.
| Reference List Example |
Nye, B. [TheRealBillNye]. (2009, April 8). Bill Nye the science guy on energy [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/0ASLLiuejAo |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Creator's Last Name, Year) Example: (Nye, 2009) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Creator's Last Name, Year) Example: (Nye, 2009) Note: Because videos typically do not have page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings,this information is left out of the in-text citation. |
User name that posted the video. (Year video was posted, Month Day). Title of video [Video file]. Retrieved from URL
Note: According to APA, for citing purposes the person who posted the video is credited as the author.
| Reference List Example |
All Aces Media. (2012, January 19). Often awesome the series [Video file]. Retrieved from http://vimeo.com/35311255 |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(User name, Year) Example: (All Aces Media, 2012) |
| In-Text Quote |
(User name, Year) Example: (All Aces Media, 2012) Note: Because videos typically do not have page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings,this information is left out of the in-text citation. |
Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Director). (Year of Publication). Title of Movie [Film]. Production Company. Retrieved from Database name database.
Note: Only specify how you watched a film (on DVD, streaming, etc.) when it is important to indicate a specific version. Put this information in the square brackets following the word "Film" and a semicolon. If you have more than one director use (Directors) instead and separate their names with commas, adding an ampersand (&) before the final name. If the director is unknown, credit someone in a similar role (producer/writer) and put their job title in round brackets after their name.
| Example |
Gitlitz, R. (Director). (2017). The story of Diana [Film]. ABC Entertainment. Retrieved from Kanopy database. or Gitlitz, R. (Director). (2017). The story of Diana [Film; Kanopy database]. ABC Entertainment. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Director Last name, Year) Example: (Gitlitz, 2017) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Director Last name, Year, Time Stamp) Example: (Gitlitz, 2017, 51:45) Note: Because videos typically do not have page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings, instead provide a time stamp for the beginning of the quotation. |
Producer/Director/Writer's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Role(s) in Production e.g. Director, Writer, Producer). (Year DVD was produced). Title of DVD [DVD]. City of Publication, Province Code/State Code/Country: DVD Distributor if Known.
Note: For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country.
| Reference List Example |
Hallam, J. (Producer, Writer), & Lam, K. (Producer, Director). (2010). Staff relations in healthcare: Working as a team [DVD]. New York, NY: Insight Media. Note: When you have more than one producer, writer and/or writer to credit, separate the names with a comma and put an ampersand (&) before the last person's last name. For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Producer/Director/Writer's Last Name, Year) Example: (Hallam & Lam, 2010) Note: This example has two people to credit, so both last names are given) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Producer/Director/Writer's Last Name, Year) Example: (Hallam & Lam, 2010) Note: Because the DVD does not have page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings,this information is left out of the in-text citation. |
Title of DVD [DVD]. (Year DVD was Produced). City of Publication, Province Code/State Code/Country: DVD Distributor if Known.
Note: When the Director, Producer and/or Writer is not known, start the citation with the DVD title.
For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country.
| Reference List Example |
Era of viruses [DVD]. (2006). Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humanities and Sciences. Note: For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Title of DVD, Year) Example: (Era of Viruses, 2006) Note: Italicize the title of the DVD and capitalize the words for the in-text citation. |
| In-Text Quote |
(Title of DVD, Year) Example: (Era of Viruses, 2006) Note: Italicize the title of the DVD and capitalize the words for the in-text citation. Because the DVD does not have page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings,this information is left out of the in-text citation. |
Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Job Title) if known. (Year the episode was originally aired). Title of episode [Television series episode]. In Executive Producer's First Initial. Last Name (Executive producer) if known, Television series name. City of production company, Two Letter Province or State Code/Country Name: Production Company.
Note: For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country.
| Reference List Example |
Young, R. (Writer, Producer, Director). (2010). Flying cheap [Television series episode]. In Frontline. Washington, DC: American University School of Communication's Investigative Reporting Workshop. Note: For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year) Example: (Young, 2010) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year) Example: (Young, 2010) Note: Because the television episode does not have page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings, this information is left out of the in-text citation. |
Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Job Title) if known. (Year the movie was produced). Title of movie: Subtitle if any [Motion picture] City of production company if known, Two Letter Province or State Code or Country Name: Production Company.
| Reference List Example |
Godfrey, W., & Rosenfelt (Producers), & Slade, D. (Director). (2010). The twilight saga: Eclipse [Motion picture]. United States: Summit Entertainment. Note: For cities in the US and Canada normally list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. In this example the specific city was not known. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year) (Godfrey, Rosenfelt, & Slade, 2010) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Writer, Producer and/or Director's Last Name, Year) (Godfrey, Rosenfelt, & Slade, 2010) Note: Because the movie does not have page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings,this information is left out of the in-text citation. |
This guide is used/adapted with the permission of Seneca College Libraries.
