Most performances are collective efforts that involve the work and creativity of more than one person.

Images, texts, objects, and sounds produced by artists oblige the creators and performers to negotiate rights and permissions for their use.

Although no style manual prescribes a proper format for doing so, creative and performing arts professionals must list credits for those who contributed to their work.

Film credits are extensive because the medium not only requires the acknowledgement of the many personnel involved in the production of a film, but also because making a film calls for the negotiation of numerous rights and permissions. The elements of a film or other performance —cinematography, script, music, performance, special effects, location, set, make-up, costume, editors, props, scores and so on—all need the proper recognition. In theater, these credits are recorded in the production’s program.

In addition to film, Web sites represent an example of a production that demands an elaborate negotiation of rights and permissions. Web sites consist of programming languages and scripts, images, text, fonts, graphics, and other multimedia, all of which stipulate that the user negotiate the proper rights and permissions for their use.

For more information about how rights and permissions are negotiated by creative and performing arts professionals, try Copyright Website.

Here are some examples of some ways that you can list credits or incorporate rights and permissions into your work:

• Contact the creator or copyright owner of the image, video, sound, or text you would like to use in your creative work to request permission to do so

• Credit the creator or copyright owner of images, videos, sound, and text when you use their work

• List all members of your creative team in promotional materials

• Comply with the conditions for use set by the creator or copyright owner

If you are a performing or visual artist, the Rights and Licenses page may help you to determine the proper way to cite the contributions of others to your work.

Bibliographic citations follow standard rules to identify and describe information sources. Researchers in Art History use the style manual published by the University of Chicago Press in The Chicago Manual of Style. It is essential to use the most recent edition of the style manual.

Depending upon their area of study, scholars may also use the style manual published by the Modern Language Association (MLA) in The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Always check with your professor for the preferred citation format.

Rights and Licenses

Chicago Manual of Style

MLA Style