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10.3 Finding and Attributing Content in your Multimedia Projects
Multimedia projects often require the use of images, video, or sound clips and music to help improve the overall effect of your project, be it video, presentation, infographic or other format. You can make use of openly licensed, free to use, and public domain materials to enhance these projects, but first you have to find them. Once located, you’ll need to pay special attention to the licenses and terms of use for each site.
Consider
When planning for copyright compliance in your multimedia projects, consider the resources you need to create engaging multimedia. What resources do you already have access to?
Does your employer or school have a subscription to products such as Canva or another software package that already contain elements you can make use of?
Does your employer or school have a stock image collection?
Does your employer or school have branding guidelines or resources to get you started?
If you answered no to these questions, you will likely need to find open/free resources to help create your message.
There are several excellent sources for findings high quality images and graphics online. Some use licenses similar to Creative Commons and simply require the attribution and a link to the original author.
Unsplash: Great free images, but need to verify that they are free to use under Unsplash license – paid access images and Unsplash+ are mixed in with the free images. After searching, use the License dropdown to indicate ‘free’.
Pexels: Great free images. Verify that they’re free to use under Pexels license.
Pixabay: Images: Great free images. Verify that they’re free to use under Pexels license.
Google Advanced Search: You can use the search limiters to limit to materials that are free to use, but you will need to check licenses very carefully on the actual page you want to use.
You must carefully review licenses on the original page where the resource (image, video, music) is found. Watch for statements such as “non-commercial use only”, “personal use”, “no derivatives” and other statements that may indicate that content could be problematic if you’re creating projects for work or school. If you’re not sure, check with your employer or your academic library.
Providing Attribution for Creative Commons resources
We give others credit for their work, not only because it is a requirement of the license but also because it is the right thing to do. Your creation would not exist without the original author’s work, so it is only fair that you acknowledge their contribution by including a well-done attribution in your work. Below is a guide to providing proper attribution for Creative Commons (CC) licensed resources.
What Information Do I Need?
The ideal Creative Commons attribution will include the following information:
Title: Name of the material if provided; however, some creators choose to leave their works untitled.
Author: The name of the author or authors of the material; unless the author has specifically requested that you not attribute content to them.
Source: Where can the content be found? This is usually a link to a website or document.
License: Provide which type of CC license the content is published under and provide a link.
The shaded area below is an example of how attribution information is typically be formatted:
A Typical Attribution for Creative Commons materials
You may also need to add the following information, depending on what notices were present when you accessed the material and how you used it:
If there any other copyright notices, notices that refer to the disclaimer or warranties, or notices of previous modifications, you should keep this information and copy it into your attribution.
If you modified the material yourself, you should add a note indicating what modifications you made and what terms the new work is being licensed under.
If you are using an adaptation of an already adapted work, you should credit the creators of the previous works and the creator of the adaption.
Where Should I Display Attribution Information?
Attribution should be given in a manner that is reasonable for the medium you are working in. Here are some of the most common practices for attributing content.
Written documents and images: place the attribution information next to the Creative Commons material or include it as a footer toward the bottom of the page.
Slideshows: include the attribution information as a footer on the bottom of the slide that the work appears on.
Videos: show the attribution information for the material used when it appears on screen.
Podcasts: mention the artist’s name, that the work is under a Creative Commons license during the podcast, and provide full attribution next to where the podcast is available online.
If the standard attribution methods are not suited for your particular project, you can always include a credits section in your work to display the necessary attribution information.
Tip: Providing Attribution for other Resources
When using free-to-use materials (such as images from Unsplash, music from Pixabay), check to see if the source website has a recommended attribution statement and use that format. Even if attribution is not required, it is good practice to provide it, giving credit to the original creators. If you’re using materials under fair dealing or a Creative Commons license, you must provide a proper reference/attribution statement.
Resources
If you are new to attributing content, consider using the resources below:
