Writing a prose, essay or any written documentation might sometimes include a special quote to start it, especially citation or referencing a quote from a movie. If you think you can do it easy peasy, you are wrong.
There’s a format that one needs to follow for making the citation more formal and appropriate. If you’re making a major speech or just a simple essay, here’s how you can include a citation from a movie:
Movie Citations – A guide on doing it right
- Using Recorded Audio (ex. Podcasts)
When hosting a podcast that usually revolves around certain topics that matters in the society, we can’t help but also phrase some specific points from notable public figures or from one of your show’s speakers. It’s important that they will be included within the citation as to provide a form of credit from the quote.
Here is an example on how to rephrase the original author’s quote:
- “The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall.” (Mandela, 1999)
- The topic was about, Mandela (1999) stated, “The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall”.
Finally, for collating recordings that has a citation, here’s how you should label or entitle every recording made for appropriate referencing:
(Speaker’s Family Name), (Speaker’s Name Initial). (Year Recorded) (Recording Number). (Location): (Organization’s Name).
- Using Motion Picture Film
Citing a motion picture film is quite the same as on how you do citations with audio recordings. However, it’s more detailed and you would need more information about the film that you’re making a citation about.
Unlike audio recordings where you only cite a speaker and his works, the film involves including the names of the directors and even the producers. Below is an example on how you should quote a line from a movie:
- “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” (Producer’s Name & Director’s Name, Year Released).
When it comes to referencing a movie as a whole, here’s the correct format on sequencing them:
- (Producer’s Family Name), (Producer’s Name Initial) & (Director’s Family Name), (Director’s Name Initial). (Year Released). (Movie Title). (Location) (Organization)
- Using Radio Broadcast
Due to technological advancements, radio broadcast doesn’t get that much citation compared to when it was first introduced. However, if there are notable quotes that you like to cite in your work, here’s how to format a quote citation:
- (The full quote), (Name of the Narrator/Announcer, Year Released)
For properly labeling a listing, here’s the exact format to follow:
- (Announcer’s Family Name), (Announcer’s Name Initial). (Date Released). (Title of the Broadcast) (Broadcast Episode Number), (Producer’s Name), (Broadcasting Name), (Location)
Important Tips When Doing Citations
- Realize that you don’t need to listen to the whole audio recording or film just to get a single line to quote in your writings. That’s too much work and might not be practical to do so. The best thing you can do is to do a quick google search, pick a quote, watch that scene or episode and get the full details about it.
- You can access a lot of files online on transcript for specific recordings and films. The same as looking for a film episode or scene, you can use a strong keyword to search online for the specific transcript.
- Other organizations might require you to follow their own standard of citations. The presented samples above are the most general way to cite different references from audio recordings, films and radio broadcasts. Be flexible and willing to change it according to the guidelines of the organizations.
- Be mindful when making citations especially with the right details, any typo error is not acceptable since this will be accessible publicly. Make sure to double check all details before publishing.
- Citations are important when you include references to avoid your work from tagging as plagiarism. A single line from a motion picture movie is copyrighted, illegal use or failure to reference the original source can put you into serious problems.
- Always do your research before you do referencing, make sure you have the right details and information from that specific audio and film before you include it in your writing.