theneobez

I was curious, do any of you have any specific method to citing supplemental DVD materials such as a film commentary or documentary in MLA for a research/critical essay?

Citing the DVD is simple enough, but I mean specifically the supplemental features on a DVD

I realize this is not the usual discussion seen here, and I did a quick search but found nothing. If this doesn't belong here please feel free to close the thread and forgive my error

nemein

I suspect it should be done in the same manner as the DVD itself (assuming it's a video feature, if it's text just use the usual reference style). So reference the movie/DVD as you would usually and then state which special feature it is specifically from.

Mike Adams

I've noticed that a lot of documentaries that are specifically produced as DVD supplements have their own page at imdb.com like any other film. If you're referencing one of those, you could probably just cite it as a film, that way you'll seem like a smartie who watches a lot of documentaries. For commentaries and other stuff, I'd agree with nemein.

theneobez

Well if I am watching something on a DVD, I need to cite that it is on the dvd, whether it is a documentary available on its own or not.

But yeah, I would cite a dvd like this:
Blue. Dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski. 1993. DVD. Miramax, 2003.

Would I cite a commentary like:
Insdorf, Annette. “Audio Commentary with Annette Insdorf.” Blue. 1993. DVD. Miramax, 2003.

If I do, I'm wondering how I would cite this in-text. (Insdorf "Audio") or something like that?

GoldenJCJ

From my Writer's Reference Guide: MLA Format

Works Cited:
Begin with the title. For a film, cite the director and the lead actors or narrator ("Perf." or "Narr."), followed by the distributor and year.

Example:
The English Patient. Dir. Anthony Minghella. Perf. Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, and Kristen Scott Thomas. Miramax, 1996.



In Text Citations:
To cite an electronic source in the text of your paper, follow the same rules as for print sources. If the source has an author and there is a page number, provide both.

Electronic sources often lack page numbers. If the source uses some other numbering system, such as paragraphs or sections, specify them, using an abbreviation ("par.," "sec.") or a full word ("screen"). Otherwise, use no number at all.

If an electronic source has no known author, either use the complete title in a sgnal phrase or use a short form of the title in the parentheses.

theneobez

K, that's pretty much what I have done. I will add the lead actors though, I seem to have overlooked that.

Thanks for writing that out for me.


BTW if anyone wants to read a 13 page critical essay on Blue let me know, lol. Film Analysis class: serious business.

Mike Adams

Okay, well you can see it's been a looong time since I had to write such a paper. It just seemed to me that if you could cite "Blue" as "Blue", Miramax, 1993 then you could cite a documentary independent of the main feature, i.e., "Behind Blue: The Making of a Classic", Thistle Hill Media, 2003.

...but, as I say, I'm way out of date, so I probably shouldn't have bothered answering.

Cameron

also, some dvds have isbn numbers on or around the upc code