Films and Videos

Films and Videos

A Note About Films and Videos  

The “author” for a film, video, or other types of audiovisual resources is determined by the type of media. The chart below, adapted from a chart on page 341 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (the Publication Manual) shows who should be included as an author for different types of media:  

Media Type   Who is included as the author?  
Film   Director
Television series   Executive producer(s) or producer(s)  
Television episode or webisode   Writer and director of the episode  
YouTube, or another streaming video   Person or group who uploaded the video  
TED Talk   Speaker  
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Remember! The way a work was accessed or obtained (e.g.: online, in print, through interlibrary loan), and the format (e.g.: print vs. PDF, DVD vs. streaming), does not change how a resource is cited, either in-text or in the reference list entry. 

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Films and Videos

A screenshot of a film on the National Film Board of Canada's streaming platform. The film is titled, "The Spirit of Annie Mae". Blue arrows point to the name of the film, the name of the director, the NFB logo, and the date of production.
An example of a page from a streaming video platform. This is where all of the information for the reference list entry and the in-text citation is found.

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Reference List Entry: Format (10.12)

Director, D. (Director). (Date). Title of work [Description]. Production company. 

Reference List Entry: Example

Martin, C. A. (Director). (2002). The spirit of Annie Mae [Film]. National Film Board of Canada. 
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Remember! If you are quoting directly from any audiovisual resource, include a time stamp for the beginning of the material being quoted, and include the time stamp in place of the page number, e.g.: (Cuddy, 2012, 2:12).

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Parenthetical Citation   

(Director, Date), e.g.: (Martin, 2015)  or (Martin, 2015, 8:37)

Narrative Citation  

Director (Date), e.g.: Martin (2015) , or Martin (2015, 8:37)
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Remember! For names and titles in Indigenous languages, record them exactly as they appear on the resource. Do not change spelling, punctuation, capitalization, or the order of names and words.

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Foreign Language Film or Video

A screenshot of a film on the National Film Board of Canada's streaming platform. The film is titled, "Le Piano de Louise". Blue arrows point to the title, the name of the production company, the director, and the date of production.
An example of a page from a streaming video platform that features foreign language films. This is where all of the information for the reference list entry and the in-text citation is found.

Reference List Entry: Format (10.12)  

Director, D. (Director). (Date). Title of work [Translation of title] [Description]. Production company. 
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Remember! When the title of a film is in a different language from that of the paper, include a translation of the title in square brackets (9.38).  

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Reference List Entry: Example

Cimon, E.. (Director). (2019). Le piano de Louise [Louise’s piano] [Film]. National Film Board of Canada.  

Parenthetical Citation  

(Director, Date), e.g.: (Cimon, 2019) 

Narrative Citation  

Director (Date), e.g.: Cimon (2019) 

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Television Series

An image of a television series’ page on a streaming site. The title of the series is “The 8th Fire”. Blue arrows point to the title and to the link to the show’s credits, along with a note indicating that the credits will have more information.
An example of a page from a streaming video platform where television shows can be watched. This is where all of the information for the reference list entry and the in-text citation is found.

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Reference List Entry: Format (10.12)  

Producer, P. (Producer). (Date). Title of work [Description]. Production company.
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Remember! A director, host, or producer can be listed as an “author” (10.2). 

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Hint! When a series spans multiple years, include both years as part of the date, and separate the years with a dash. If a series is still in production, replace the second year with the word “present”, e.g.: (2012-2018) or (2016-present).   

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Reference List Entry: Example

Walker, C. (Producer). (2012). The 8th fire [TV series]. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 
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Remember! Look at the material itself to get all the necessary citation information. In this case, the name of the producer, the date of production, and the name of the production company are all found in the credits. 

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Parenthetical Citation   

(Producer, Date), or (Producer & Producer, Date), or (Producer et al., Date) for works with three or more producers, e.g.: (Walker, 2012)  

Narrative Citation

Producer (Date), Producer and Producer (Date), or Producer et al. (Date) for works with three or more producers, e.g.: Walker (2012)  

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Television Episode or Webisode  

A screenshot of an episode of Canada: A People's History, hosted on the CBC streaming platform. Blue arrows point to the titles, date of production, and other places to look for information.
An example of a page from a streaming video platform where episodes of television shows can be watched.

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Reference List Entry: Format (10.12)

Director, D. (Director). (Date). Episode title (Season or series number, Episode number) [Description]. In P. Producer (Producer or Executive Producer) Title of work. Production company.   

Reference List Entry: Example

Gregg, A.. (Director). (2000). When the world began (Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In G. Gallant (Producer), Canada: a people’s history. CBC Canada.

Parenthetical Citation

(Director, Date), e.g.: (Gregg, 2000)

Narrative Citation

Director (Date), e.g.: Gregg (2000)

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TED Talks

A screenshot of a video hosted on the TED Talks website. The talk is called, " 00:05 / 04:02 The courage to tell a hidden story". Blue arrows point to the URL, the website name, the title of the talk, and the name of the creator or speaker.
An example of a video from the TEDTalks website.

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Remember! TED Talks can be found on both the TED website and on the TED YouTube channel. If the video being cited was watched on the TED YouTube channel, cite the source as a YouTube video with all the information as it appears on the YouTube upload, e.g.: Mohammed, E. (2014, September 24). The courage to tell a hidden story. [Video]. TEDTalks. YouTube. https://youtu.be/9Eobo04R7-Y  

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Reference List Entry: Format (10.12) 

Speaker, S. (Date). Title [Description]. Production company. URL  

Reference List Entry: Example

Mohammed, E. (2014, March 2). The courage to tell a hidden story. [Video]. TEDTalks.https://www.ted.com/talks/eman_mohammed_the_courage_to_tell_a_hidden_story   

Parenthetical Citation   

(Speaker, Year), e.g.: (Mohammed, 2002) 

Narrative Citation

Speaker (Year), e.g.: Mohammed (2015)

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YouTube Videos

A screenshot of a YouTube video titled, "What is a copyright?" Blue arrows point to the title, the name of the website, the date of upload, and the group responsible for uploading.
An example of a video on YouTube.

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Reference List Entry: Format (10.12)  

Uploader. (Date). Title of work [Description]. Host Site. URL.  

Reference List Entry: Example

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (2016, September 7) What is a copyright? (Canada) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/ljNS5p3cqls  

Parenthetical Citation   

(Uploader, Year), e.g.: (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, 2016) 

Narrative Citation  

Uploader (Year), e.g.: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (2015)
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Sources

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA style. (7th ed.).

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