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How to Use Media Ethically: Videos

Video

Photos of people with video cameras, interviewing, and editing videos.

Stated Licenses (Creative Commons & Public Domain)

There is a Creative Commons filter option that will limit your search results to videos with stated licenses. Check out the other helpful filter options as well (date, length, etc).

YouTube search filters, with the Creative Commons option highlighted

To see the license for a YouTube Video, click on the Show More option on the About tab. The section will expand the the license should be located near the bottom. If it is a Creative Commons license, it will be a hyperlink that you can click for more information.

Show More button expands info and shows license.

Vimeo search filters

There is an option to limit search results to only show items with Creative Commons licenses. On the main search results page, look for the Advanced Filters option on the right. This expands into a menu of filter options, including date uploaded and length. At the bottom of this menu, you will see a drop-down option for license. You must select a particular Creative Commons license; it will not search all CC videos at once.


Vimeo videos show license information directly under the video, next to the title and creator name. You can click on the icons to see the full license from the Creative Commons website.

Vimeo license information is by creator and upload info

 

 

 

Header Image Attribution

The first post-war British television camera was the CPS Emitron. First used for the 1948 Olympic Games in London, this camera continued in service until the late 1950s. The example here, shown with its control equipment, dates from 1950 and has a different design of casing to the first production models. Daily Herald Archive at the National Media Museum Uploaded by mrjohncummings

No restrictions

Attribution

FOR CREATIVE COMMONS VIDEO:

Your attribution should follow this format, which adheres to Creative Commons best practices.

Title of video file [linked to original hosting site] by Author [linked to profile page] under License [linked to license deed].


FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN VIDEO:

Your attribution should follow this format:

Title of work [linked to original hosting site] by AuthorDate (if known, or n.d. if not known). Public Domain.

VIDEO RECORDING

Title of movie. Directed by. Production company, Date released. Medium. Distribution company, Date released.

  • If a full name is not available for the creator, use the screen name provided. 
  • If you wish to highlight the work of a director or performer, place their name after the title of the video with an abbreviated title (Dir. or Perf.)
  • To cite a television episode, add the title of the particular episode in quotation marks after the title (e.g. Mad Men. Season 1, episode 12, "Nixon vs. Kennedy.")

EXAMPLES

Crumb. Directed by Terry Zwigoff. Superior Pictures, 1994. DVD. Sony Pictures, 2006.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Directed by Amy Heckerling. Performed by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sean Penn. Universal Pictures, 1982. DVD. Universal Pictures, 2002.

Adele. "Someone like You" (music video). Directed by Jake Nava. Posted October 1, 2011. Accessed February 28, 2012. http://www.mtv.com/videos/adele/693356/someone-like-you.jhtml.


ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

For citing online videos, see section 17.8.3 of the eighth edition of the Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students & Researchers.

Tools

SOFTWARE

APPS & WEB APPS