Skip to Main Content
Library homepage

APA: Videos, Movies & Shows

Citation Generators - A Warning!

How to Cite Online Videos in APA

You can use this format for video sites, such as YouTube, Vimeo or TED Talks.

For videos that are posted on a website, by the people who run that website, such as TED Talks (on the TED website), you will list the speaker as the author.

For videos that are uploaded by any user of the website, like YouTube or Vimeo, the person who UPLOADED the video is listed as the author. This can get confusing when looking at how something is cited on the TED Talks website vs. a TED video posted on YouTube, but we'll give you examples of both.

  • List the video title as its shown on the video page. The title will be italicized and capitalized sentence style (capitalize the first word and proper nouns). 
    • After the video title you will put the type of media in brackets. In this case it will be [Video]. Pay close attention to where you put the period for the title.
  • You'll need the date the video was posted.
    • You may have to hit more to see the upload date (see screenshots below)
    • Note how dates are formatted - year, full month name, day.
  • Note where periods and commas separate pieces of information.

To find the upload date on YouTube, hit more, found on the left side of the gray box in the example below. 

YouTube screenshot

After you hit more, the date changes from 10 years ago to the specific date.

YouTube screenshot

Use this format when citing a video on the TED Talks website.
References:

Speaker. (Date). Title of video [Video]. Website Name, link 

TED Talk on the TED Website:

Cuddy, A. (2012, June). Your body language may shape who you are [Video]. Ted Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_may_shape_who_you_are

In-Text Citations:

If you are using a PowerPoint presentation, you will need to cite your visual aid on the slide that has the video or picture.

Use author lastname, year format.

(Cuddy, 2012)

In-Text Citation for Direct Quotes:

Create an in-text citation for the video and then include the time stamp when the quotation begins instead of a page number.

Example: To indicate that the quoted words begin at 4 min, 35 s in a video by Bailey from 2024, use the citation (Bailey, 2024, 4:35).

Use this format for YouTube or Vimeo videos.
References:

Account/Person who Uploaded. (Date). Title of video [Video]. Website Name, link 

YouTube: 

In this example, TED is the user account that uploaded the video. We keep all of the information in the title of the video, just make sure to adjust the capitalization (if needed).

TED. (2019, November 13). The danger of AI is weirder than you think | Janelle Shane [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhCzX0iLnOc

In-Text Citations:

If you are using a PowerPoint presentation, you will need to cite your visual aid on the slide that has the video or picture.

Use author lastname, year format.

(TED, 2019)

In-Text Citation for Direct Quotes:

Create an in-text citation for the video and then include the time stamp when the quotation begins instead of a page number.

Example: To indicate that the quoted words begin at 4 min, 35 s in a video by Bailey from 2024, use the citation (Bailey, 2024, 4:35).

How to Cite Movies & TV Shows in APA

References:
  • The name of the film is italicized and capitalized sentence style (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns).
  • Name of the director and the production studio. 
    • If there is more than one studio listed, the you will list both studios, separated with a semicolon ;
  • Year the movie was released.
  • Whenever you have an audiovisual source, you'll describe the source in brackets after the title. In this case it's [Film].
  • You don't have to say how you watched the film (DVD vs streaming, unless it's a special version of the film).
  • Note where periods and commas separate pieces of information.

If you don't know the director, studio or year you can find this information online (Google, IMDB, or on streaming service platforms).

Director Name. (Director). (Year). Movie title [Film]. Studio Name.

Verrette, T. (Director). (2021). Zero gravity [Film]. Skylight Cinema; 20th Digital Studio.

In-Text Citation:

Use the last name of the director and the year the film was released. 

(Verrette, 2021)

References:
  • The name of the series is italicized and capitalized sentence style (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns).
  • Name of the executive producers if you are referencing the whole series. 
  • If you are referencing a specific episode you'll also use the names of the writer and director of that episode. 
    • Include the season and episode numbers and the episode title.
  • The production studio. 
    • If there is more than one studio listed, the you will list both studios, separated with a semicolon ;
  • Years the series ran if you're referencing the series. Date the episode was released for a specific episode.
  • Whenever you have an audiovisual source, you'll describe the source in brackets after the title. In this case it's [TV series] or [TV series episode].
  • Note where periods and commas separate pieces of information.

If you don't know the specific details APA wants you to include, you can find this information online (Google, IMDB, or on streaming service platforms).

If you are referencing the whole TV series:

Executive Producers. (Executive Producers). (Years). Series title [TV series]. Studio Name.

Serling, R. (Executive Producer). (1959–1964). The twilight zone [TV series]. Cayuga Productions; CBS Productions.

If you are referencing a specific episode:

Writer Name. (Writer), & Director Name. (Director). (Episode date). Episode title capitalized sentence style (Season number, Episode number) [TV series episode]. In Executive Producers - the names are flipped here to first initial then last name- (Executive Producers), Series name capitalized sentence style. Studios.

Favreau, J. (Writer), & Filoni, D. (Director). (2019, November 12). Chapter 1 (Season 1, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In J. Favreau, D. Filoni, K. Kennedy, & C. Wilson (Executive Producers), The Mandalorian. Lucasfilm; Golem Creations.

Sherman-Palladino, A. (Writer & Director). (2018, December 5). All alone (Season 2, Episode 10) [TV series episode]. In A. Sherman-Palladino, D. Palladino, D. Gilbert, M. Shapiro, S. Carino, & S. Lawrence (Executive Producers), The marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Dorothy Parker Drank Here Productions; Picrow; Amazon Studios.

In-Text Citation:

Use the last name of the director and the year the film was released. 

(Serling, 1959–1964)

(Favreau & Filoni, 2019)

(Sherman-Palladino, 2018)

Ask the Library!

Contact the Library

phone icon Phone: 712-325-3478
mail icon Email: library@iwcc.edu
question mark icon Ask a Librarian

Questions about formatting, citations, or finding sources? 

Schedule an in-person or Zoom meeting with library staff by clicking the Schedule Appointment button.