Citation Guides

Film, Television and Video

• The citation format for a film or television episode depends on whether your focus is on a particular person involved in the creation (director, actor, writer, etc.) or on the film or episode as a whole.

Film and TV, focus on a person

• If the focus of your discussion is on a person, you begin with that person's name and the role they play. Some roles include: director, creator, performer, writer.

Example of film, focus on a person:

Last name, First name, role. Title of Film. Distributor of film. Date released.

Garland, Judy, performer. The Wizard of Oz. Loew's, 1939.

Example of TV episode, focus on a person:

Last name, First name, role. "Title of Episode." Title of Series, season number, episode number, Distributor, date released.

Whedon, Joss, creator. "Hush." Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 4, episode 10, Twentieth Century Fox, 14 Dec. 1999.

Film and TV, focus on the whole

• If the discussion is of the film or episode as a whole, you begin the citation with the title.

Examples of film, focus on entire work:

Title of Film. Directed by First name Last name, performances by First name Last name, Distributor, date released.

It's a Wonderful Life. Directed by Frank Capra, RKO, 1946.

Philadelphia Story. Directed by George Cukor, performances by Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1940.

YouTube, Kanopy, or other online or streaming video

• If you don't have the director's name, you may use the poster's name or user name, or company name where appropriate.
• If no creator, poster, or director's name is given, begin with the title.

Examples:

Director Last Name, First Name, director. “Title of Video/Segment.” Title of Website/Program. Publisher of Website, Date of Release, URL. Accessed Date Accessed.

Khan Academy. “Converting Fractions to Decimals.” YouTube, 8 Apr. 2007, youtu.be/Gn2pdkvdbGQ. Accessed 1 Nov. 2016.

Lohr, Kathy, director. “Controversy Swirls Around Harsh Anti-Obesity Ad.” All Things Considered. NPR, 9 Jan. 2018, www.npr.org/2012/01/09/144799538/controversy-swirls-around-harsh-anti-obesity-ads. Accessed 10 Jan. 2019.

McGonigal, Jane. “Gaming and Productivity.” YouTube, uploaded by Big Think, 3 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkdzy9bWW3E. Accessed 15 Aug. 2019. 

Talreja, Sanjay and Sut Jhally. Advertising and the End of the World. Media Education Foundation, 1997, Kanopy, kirkwood.kanopystreaming.com/video/advertising-end-world. Accessed 15 July 2019.

Podcast

• Podcasts, like films or television shows, may be delivered through a number of different stations, services, or apps. We give a number of examples below, based on the different ways you might have accessed the podcast.
• You may also choose to apply the rules listed above under "Film, Television, and Video" about which contributor or creator was your focus in your use of the resource. For example, your discussion of the podcast might focus on the person being interviewed, on the host's commentary, or on the words spoken by the narrator. Include this information about the role of the contributor in your citation.

Podcast, accessed through a browser:

Name(s) of creator, host, or narrator. "Title of Episode." Title of Podcast, season and episode number if available, publisher, date published, URL.

Clark, Josh, and Chuck Bryant, hosts. "How Bail Works." Stuff You Should Know, iHeartMedia, 23 Feb. 2010, www.iheart.com/podcast/105-stuff-you-should-know-26940277/episode/how-bail-works-29468033/.

Podcast, accessed through a browser and part of a larger website:

Name(s) of creator, host, or narrator. "Title of Episode." Title of Podcast, season and episode number if available, publisher, date published. Title of Website, URL. 

Douthat, Ross, et al., hosts. "The Pandemic vs. The President." The Argument, The New York Times, 12 Mar. 2020. The New York TImes, www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/opinion/the-argument-coronavirus-trump.html.

Podcast, accessed through an app:

Name(s) of creator, host, narrator, or interviewee. "Title of Episode." Title of Podcast, Name of app, season and episode number if available, publisher if available, date published. 

Roose, Kevin, narrator. "One: Wonderland." Rabbit Hole, iHeartRadio app, 16 Apr. 2020.