Citation Help

This page covers some basic examples of APA citations for online and print audio visual materials.  For more complete information, see the resources listed in the box to the right. 

In each box below you will see a list of the elements you need to gather to create the citation. The citation elements for audio visual materials can generally be found on the item's case, credits, and/or in the information provided by a database, depending on the source. Then you will see the formatting to use to put the elements in the proper format.  Last, you will see an example of a citation in APA format.

Also note that the citation examples should be double spaced with a hanging indentation, which are not always displayed correctly online.  To view a paper formatted for APA, including the reference list at the end, see the APA Sample Paper from the OWL at Purdue.

Elements Needed (in order given) - 

• Artist, Composer, Performer, Author, Director, or Conductor… The name listed first is the one the writer wants to emphasize. Start with title if none is listed. Use Parentheses to identify the listed's contribution, if not the artist.
• (Date). Put date after title if there is no author listed.
• Title italicized. Only first word, proper nouns and first word after a colon capitalized.
• Any needed descriptive material, such as conductor, if not listed already, etc.
• [Medium].
• Location of publisher, if available.
• Publisher/Label/Studio - include where available
• Retrieved from URL or database name.  If retrieved online.

Format - 

Artist, A. A. (Date). Title italicized. [Medium]. Location: Publisher.

Director, D. D. (Director), & Producer, P.P. (Producer). (Date). Title. [Medium]. Location: Publisher.

Example CD -

Lloyd Webber, A. (1987). The Phantom of the opera: The original London cast. [CD]. London: Polydor.

Example Streaming Video - 

Thum, C. (Producer). (2000). Stress Management [Video file]. Retrieved from Films on Demand database.