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MLA Citation Style Guide: MLA Examples - Images, Video, and Audio

The MLA Citation Style Guide provides assistance for citing sources, based on the guidelines set by the Modern Language Association (MLA) in the MLA Handbook, 9th edition.

Images

Visual Art - Paintings, Sculptures, and Photographs. 

Artist's name. Title of work. Date of Composition, Institution that houses work, City.

If a piece of art does not have a title, a general description of the work can be included in place of the title. The description does not need to be italicized. 

Example:

Bearden, Romare. The Train. 1975, Museum of Modern Art, New York.

or

Mackintosh, Charles Rennie. Chair of stained oak. 1897-1900, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Online Images

Artist's name. Title of work. Title of database or Web site,  Institution that houses work, City, URL.

Example:

Harris, Charles "Teenie." Woman in Paisley Shirt behind Counter in Record Store. Teenie Harris Archive, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, teenie.cmoa.org/interactive/index.html#date08.

MLA Handbook, 8th ed.,  pg 29, 41, and 49

Video (film)

Title of movie. Director, Performer(s), Distributor, Year of release. 

or

Director. Title of movie. Performer(s), Distributor, Year of release.

Example:

Scott, Ridley, director. Blade Runner. 1982. Performance by Harrison Ford, director's cut, Warner Bros., 1992.

MLA Handbook, 8th ed., pg 39

Video (television)

Series

Title of the program or series. Creator, Performer, Distributor, Date of distribution. 

Creator and performer is optional in the citation. However, if you are focusing on a particular person, you would begin with their name.

Performer, Creator, Director, or Writer name. Title of the program or series. Distributor, Date of distribution. 

Example:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mutant Enemy, 1997-2003. 

Whedon, Joss. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Mutant Enemy, 1997-2003.

Episode of a Series

"Title of episode." Title of the program or series, Creator, Performer, season, episode, Distributor, Date of distribution.  

Episode found online:

"Title of episode." Title of the program or series, season, episode, Distributor, Date of distribution. Web site, URL.

Example:

"Hush." Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Created by Joss Whedon, performance by Sarah Michelle Gellar, season 4, episode 10, Mutant Enemy, 1999.

or

"Under the Gun." Pretty Little Liars, season 4, episode 6, ABC Family, 16 July 2013. Hulu, www.hulu.com/watch/511318.

MLA Handbook, 8th ed., pg 24, 28, and 33

YouTube

"Title of Video." Name of Website, uploaded by Poster's name, upload date, URL.

Example:

 "Miami University: Love and Honor (trailer)." YouTube, uploaded by miamiofohio, 25 Jan. 2013, youtu.be/Xhqs6BsNBGY.

MLA Handbook, 8th ed., pg. 44

Sound Recordings

Composer, Conductor, Ensemble or Performer. Title of the recording. Performed by (if distinct from first-listed person). Manufacturer, Year of issue. 

The date of the recording may also be included in the citation directly before the Manufacturer.

Examples:

Holiday, Billie. The Essence of Billie Holiday, Columbia, 1991. 

Hedberg, Mitch. Strategic Grill Locations. Comedy Central, 2003.

 

To cite a specific song:

Artist(s). "Title of song." Title of the recording, Manufacturer, Year of issue.

If the song is from online verses a CD, you should include the URL at the end of the citation.

Example:

Beyonce. "Pretty Hurts." Beyonce, Parkwood Entertainment, 2013, www.beyonce.com/album/beyonce/?media_view=songs.

MLA Handbook, 8th ed., pg 28

Podcasts

Begin with the title of the episode in quotation marks. Provide the name of the series in italics. Then follow with MLA format per usual.

“Best of Not My Job Musicians.” Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! from NPR, 4 June 2016, www.npr.org/podcasts/344098539/wait-wait-don-t-tell-me.

Creating a Works Cited Page

In MLA style your bibliography should be called Works Cited.

A hanging indent should be used for each citation.

Within your Works Cited list, your references should be in alphabetical order based on the author's last name.  If there is no author listed, use the title of the source.