MLA Style: Film & music

UON Library guide to MLA referencing style 8th edition for UON students

Film, TV, music and other AV sources: General rules

Select a tab to view the general rules and examples for various Audio Visual sources.
For YouTube videos, podcasts and other free online AV resources, see Web resources.

The citation for recordings and other multimedia content usually includes some or all of the following elements:

The name of the composer, writer, performer, or other person primarily responsible for the content. Include designations such as vocalist, conductor, or director as appropriate.
The title of the work, in italics or quotation marks, as applicable.
Information about the work, including the names of additional contributors and the date and location of the recording, production, or performance.
Information about the publisher, and date of publication.
Information about the medium or format (e.g., LP, DVD, MP3, AVI) and supplementary information, such as the number of discs in an album and the duration of the recording, as applicable.
Any additional information that might be relevant to the citation.
For sources consulted online, a DOI or URL.

The order of these elements - and which ones are included - will depend not only on the nature of the source, but also on whether a part or the whole is cited, and whether a particular contributor is the focus of the citation.

Films and videos

For YouTube videos, podcasts and other free online AV resources see Web Resources.

General Notes:

Citations of video and film recordings vary according to the nature of the material (television show, movie, etc.).
Any facts relevant to identifying the item should be included.
Ancillary material, such as critical commentary, is cited by author and title.
If the major contributors of the work are unknown, move the title to the author position.
Medium types include DVD, Blu-ray, CD-ROM, VHS, streaming video (from Kanopy, ClickView, Netflix), etc.
If the item is consulted online, include the database name, DOI or URL.

The following is the general format and examples of a reference to a video in Blu-ray, DVD and a streaming video. See general rules for Film, TV, video & music for more details.

In-text citation: format and example

... (Contributor's Last Name Timestamp cited) ...

... (Cuarón 25:14) ...

... (Leunig 8:15) ...

... (Lee 1:03:20) ...

Works cited list entry: format and example

Contributor's First and Last Name, type of contribution. Title: Subtitle. Publisher, Year. Medium, duration. Database, DOI or URL if applicable.

Cuarón, Alfonso, director. Gravity. Warner Bros., 2014. Blu-ray Disc, 1080p HD.

Lee, Ang, director. Brokeback Mountain. Performance by Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, and Michelle Williams, Kanopy, 2014. Streaming video, 134 min. Kanopy Video Streaming, kanopy.com/video/brokeback-mountain.

Leunig, Sunny, director. Integrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in Schools. Written by Simon Garner, produced by Katrina Stavridis, VEA, 2011. DVD.

TV shows

The following is the general format of a reference to a TV show or content taken from one. The order of the elements will depend not only on the nature of the source but also on whether a part or the whole is cited, and whether a particular contributor is the focus of the citation.

See general rules for Film, TV, video & music for more details.

In-text citation: format and example

... (Contributor's Last Name Part cited if applicable) ...

... (Mayberry 11:25) ...

... (Phillips) ...

Works cited list entry: format and example

Contributor's Last Name, First Name. "Episode Title." Series Title: Subtitle, season/episode no, Publication details. Database, URL.

Mayberry, Russ, director. “Her Sister’s Shadow.” The Brady Bunch, season 3, episode 10, ABC, 19 Nov. 1971. www.hulu.com/the-brady-bunch.

Phillips, Graham, reporter. "The Private Space Race Heats Up." 7:30 Report, ABC, 25 July 2018, expires 25 Jan. 2020. www.abc.net.au/7.30/the-private-space-race-heats-up/10036086.

Recorded music

General Notes:

Reference can be listed by author (writer or composer), performer, or other primary contributors. If the conductor or performer is the focus of the recording or is more relevant to the discussion than the composer, either one may be listed first.
Include publication date and/or the date of the recording or the copyright date. If no date can be found, omit this element.
Recordings on LP or disc typically include acquisition numbers, which follow the name of the publisher with no intervening comma.
For streaming audio formats and downloads, list the service or the file format, and the URL as applicable.

The following is the general format of a reference to a music recording.

See general rules for Film, TV, video & music for more details.

In-text citation: format and example

... (Contributor's Last Name Part cited) ...

... (Simon 2:10) ...

Works cited list entry: format and example

Contributor, contribution. "Title of Music." Title of Album, Other Contributors, Publisher, Year. Medium. Database, URL.

Simon, Paul. "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover." Still Crazy After All These Years: The Greatest Hits of Paul Simon, CBS Digital, 2010. CD.

Radio interviews

The following is the general format of a reference to a radio interview.

See general rules for Film, TV, and other AV materials for more details.

In-text citation: format and example

... (Interviewee's Last Name Part cited) ...

... (Stamper 19:58) ...

Works cited list entry: format and example

Interviewee's Last Name, First Name. "Interview Title: Subtitle." Interview by Interviewer. Title of Program, Radio Company, Date of Publication. Medium, Duration. Database, DOI or URL if available.

Stamper, Kory. “From ‘F-Bomb’ to ‘Photobomb’: How the Dictionary Keeps Up with English.” Interview by Terry Gross, Fresh Air, NPR, 19 Apr. 2017. Radio, 35:25. www.npr.org/2017/04/19/524618639/from-f-bomb-to-photobomb-how-the-dictionary-keeps-up-with-english.

Quoting from film, TV and other AV media

To cite a specific part or direct quote from audio or video content, you need to use the timestamp in the format of Hours:Minutes:Seconds.

Check the time that the quote starts on the audio or video, and cite that in the in-text citation, e.g.1:13:20. Here the 1:13:20 refers to 1 hour 13 minutes 20 seconds into the film, where the quote we want starts.

Hours/minutes/seconds follows the pattern H:MM:SS.
Minutes/seconds follows the pattern MM:SS.
Where you are only using seconds (e.g. for a short clip), use a zero at the front, e.g. 0:39 for 39 seconds.

For example, ... as shown in Brokeback mountain (Lee 54:22) ...