Who to Credit - DVD or Film
Many people can be involved in the production of a film but not all need to be listed in the citation. Typically the director is the only name that is used. If the director is unknown, give credit to someone in a similar role (producer/writer/host etc.). Their job title (such as Director) is put after their name in round brackets to clarify what role they had in the film production.
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.
Who to Credit - TV Series and TV Series Episode
When citing a whole TV series, credit the executive producer(s). When citing a single episode from a TV series, credit the writer and the director of the episode. For both series and single episodes, include their job titles after their names in round 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]. Name of Website. URL
Note: According to APA, for citing purposes the person who posted/uploaded the video is credited as the author.
Example |
Nye, B. [TheRealBillNye]. (2009, April 8). Bill Nye the science guy on energy [Video]. YouTube. http://youtu.be/0ASLLiuejAo |
In-Text Paraphrase |
(Creator's Last Name, Year) Example: (Nye, 2009) |
In-Text Quote |
(Creator's Last Name, Year, Time Stamp) Example: (Nye, 2009, 2:12) 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. |
User name that posted the video. (Year video was posted, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. Name of Website. URL
Note: According to APA, for citing purposes the person who posted the video is credited as the author.
Example |
All Aces Media. (2012, January 19). Often awesome the series [Video]. Vimeo. http://vimeo.com/35311255 |
In-Text Paraphrase |
(User name, Year) Example: (All Aces Media, 2012) |
In-Text Quote |
(User name, Year, Time Stamp) Example: (All Aces Media, 2012, 3:17) 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. |
Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Director). (Year of Publication). Title of Movie [Film]. Production Company.
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 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. |
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. |
Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if given. (Director). (Year DVD was produced). Title of DVD [Film; optional descriptive information if DVD is a unique version]. Production Company.
Note: In general, you don't need to cite the format of a movie. However, include it if the information you are citing can be found only in that particular format or edition (e.g. special features or commentary).
Example |
Jackson, P. (Director). (2001). The lord of the rings: The fellowship of the ring [Film; four-disc special extended ed. on DVD]. WingNut Films; The Saul Zaentz Company. Note: If there is more than one production company, separate their names with a semi-colon (;). |
In-Text Paraphrase |
(Director Last Name, Year) Example: (Jackson, 2001) |
In-Text Quote |
(Director Last Name, Year, Time Stamp) Example: (Jackson, 2001, 1:23:46) 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. |
Title of movie [Film]. (Year Movie was Produced). Production Company.
Note: When the Director, Producer and/or Writer is not known, start the citation with the movie title.
Example |
Era of viruses [Film]. (2006). Films for the Humanities and Sciences. |
In-Text Paraphrase |
(Title Of Movie, 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 Movie, Year, Time Stamp) Example: (Era Of Viruses, 2006, 1:03:42) Note: Italicize the title of the DVD and capitalize the words for the in-text citation. Because videos typically do not have page numbers, paragraph numbers or section headings, instead provide a time stamp for the beginning of the quotation. |
Writer's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Writer), & Director's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Director). (Year the episode was originally aired, Month Day if known). Title of episode (Season Number, Episode Number) [TV series episode]. In Executive Producer's First Initial. Last Name (Executive Producer), Television series name. Production Company.
Note: Include the writer and director for the episode and put their job title in round brackets after their name. If one person did both jobs use (Writer & Director).
Cite the URL for the log-in page instead of the URL for the actual movie. Omit the URL if the TV episode was viewed on cable television rather than online.
Example |
Oakley, B. K. (Writer), & Lynch, J. (Director). (2020, January 1). The Key (Season 6, Episode 5) [TV series episode]. In D. Mirkin, J. L. Brooks, & S. Simon (Executive Producers), Vikings. History. |
In-Text Paraphrase |
(Writer & Director Last Names, Year) Example: (Oakley & Lynch, 2020) |
In-Text Quote |
(Writer & Director Last Names, Year, Time Stamp) Example: (Oakley & Lynch, 2020, 17:53) 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. |
Note: As of September 21, 2024, APA has not published any guidelines on how to cite AI-generated videos. The guidelines listed here are developed from existing APA standards for citing videos and AI-generated content in general. Please check this page frequently, as it will change once APA releases guidelines for how to cite AI-generated videos.
To cite an AI-generated video in your References list, use the following formatting:
Company or Creator of the Tool. (Year this version was released). Title of video [AI-generated video]. Name of the AI Tool or Model (version information if known such as version number, version date, or version name) [Type of AI Model]. URL.
To cite AI-generated audio in your References list, use the following formatting:
Company or Creator of the Tool. (Year this version was released). Title of audio [AI-generated audio]. Name of the AI Tool or Model (version information if known such as version number, version date, or version name) [Type of AI Model]. URL.
Note: APA instructs users to give a direct URL to their AI-generated content only if that URL is publicly available. If you are unable to generate a publicly available direct URL to your AI-generated content, you should include a general URL to the AI tool itself instead.
Example |
HubSpot. (2024). Impact of stress on heart health [AI-generated video]. Clip Creator [Video generator]. https://www.hubspot.com/clip-creator. |
In-Text Paraphrase |
(Creator, Year) Example: (HubSpot, 2024) |
In-Text Quote |
(Creator, Year, Time Stamp) Example: (HubSpot, 2024, 1:28) |