Skip to Main Content

APA Citation and Formatting: Films and Videos

Attention Students!

This guide is a starting point. For full details on correctly citing resources and creating references, please consult
the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th Ed.) (2020), or Cites & Sources (6th Ed.) (2021).

Please Note! Library staff do not teach APA, and cannot evaluate or correct work. If you need help with APA Style, please contact your instructor.

A Note About Authors for Films & 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, 7th ed, shows who should be included as an author for different types of media.

Media Type 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 other streaming video Person or group who uploaded the video
TED Talk Speaker

How Do I Cite 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.

Reference List Entry: Format (10.12)
Director, D. (Director). (Date). Title of work [Description]. Production company.

Example:
Martin, C. A. (Director). (2002). The spirit of Annie Mae [Film]. National Film Board of Canada.
 

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).

Parenthetical Citation (Paraphrase)
(Director, Date), e.g.: The Sprit of Annie Mae tells the story of Annie Mae Pictou-Aquash, a 30-year-old Nova Scotia born Mi'kmaq woman who . . .(Martin, 2002).

Parenthetical Citation (Direct Quotation)
(Director, Date, Time Stamp), e.g.: “She was known by many names, but she was born Annie Mae Pictou in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, on March 27, 1945” (Martin, 2002, 1:21).

Narrative Citation (Paraphrase)
Director (Date), e.g.: In The Spirit of Annie Mae (2015), director Catherine Anne Martin tells the story of Annie Mae Pictou Aquash, a 30-year-old Nova Scotia born Mi'kmaq woman who . . .

Narrative Citation (Direct Quotation)
Director (Date, Time Stamp), e.g.: Director Catherine Anne Martin introduces Annie Mae with the words, “she was known by many names, but she was born Annie Mae Pictou in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, on March 27, 1945” (2002, 1:21).

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.

Reference List Entry: Format (10.12)
Director, D. (Director). (Date). Title of work [Translation of title] [Description]. Production company.

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).

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

Parenthetical Citation 
(Director, Date), e.g.: Le piano de Louise, or Louise's piano, tells the story of fantastical story of . . . (Cimon, 2019)

Narrative Citation
Director (Date), e.g.: Érik Cimon's short film Le piano de Louise, or Louise's piano (2019) , tells the fantastical story of . . .

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.

Reference List Entry: Format (10.12)
Producer, P. (Producer). (Date). Title of work [Description]. Production company. 

Remember! A director, host, or producer can be listed as an "author" (10.2).
Please Note! 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).

Example:
Walker, C. (Producer). (2012). The 8th fire [TV series]. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Remember! Look at the material itself to get all of 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.

Parenthetical Citation
(Producer, Date), or (Producer & Producer, Date), or (Producer et al., Date) for works with three or more producers, e.g.: The 8th Fire is a Canadian documentary series, that focused on the changing nature of Canada's relationship with its Indigenous communities (Walker, 2012).

Narrative Citation
Producer (Date), Producer and Producer (Date), or Producer et al. (Date) for works with three or more producers, e.g.: Hosted by Wab Kinew and produced by Connie Walker, the 8th Fire (2012) is a Canadian documentary series, that focused on the changing nature of Canada's relationship with its Indigenous communities.

Remember! When quoting an episode of a television series, cite and reference the episode, not the whole series. To learn how to cite and reference a television episode, see the next section.

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.

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. 

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)

 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.

Reference List Entry: Format (10.12)
Speaker, S. (Date). Title [Description]. Production company. URL

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

Please Note! 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 of 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

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

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

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.

Reference List Entry: Format (10.12)
Uploader. (Date). Title of work [Description]. Host Site. URL.

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)

Please Note!

This guide is based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed. (2020). Library staff have reviewed the information in this guide, and to the best of our knowledge, it is accurate. However, mistakes do occur. Students bear sole responsibility for ensuring that their citations are correct, and that their assignments meet the criteria laid out by their instructor. Students are encouraged to contact Peer Tutoring or the Writing Clinic for assistance.