Point citations at exact timestamps in videos, podcasts and films with clean timestamp formatting. Free, no sign-up.
What this tool does
A citation to a two-hour documentary is almost useless without a timestamp. Readers should land on the exact minute where the claim is made, not somewhere near it. This tool takes a media title, creator, date and one or two timestamps and returns a citation that points at the precise moment — and it normalises sloppy timestamps like 90 seconds or 1:90 into proper minutes and seconds so your references never contain impossible times.
Why it matters
Good citations do quiet work. They let a reader find every source you used, they show that your argument rests on real evidence rather than memory, and they protect you: a clean reference list is much harder to challenge than a vague one. Most marks lost on referencing are not lost on difficult sources. They are lost on small, repeated slips — a missing year, a swapped initial, a title in the wrong case — that a quick tool pass catches before submission.
How to use it
- Enter the media title, creator and date.
- Enter the timestamp (seconds, mm:ss or hh:mm:ss).
- Copy the timestamped citation.
Worked example
Timestamp ’90’ becomes 1:30, and ‘1:90’ becomes 2:30. A citation to a lecture at 1:30 reads: Patel, R. (2024). Water systems lecture [Video]. University Channel. Timestamp 1:30. Anyone can jump straight there.
Tips for good results
Use a range (12:04–12:47) when the claim spans more than a sentence. A single second rarely carries an argument.
Work from the source itself, not from another paper’s copy of it. And keep one style for the whole list: a single mixed entry undermines an otherwise perfect bibliography.
Honest limits
Timestamps point at moments in a specific published version. If a video is re-edited, timestamps shift. Note the version or upload date when the exact moment matters for your argument.
Common mistakes to avoid
Common mistakes to avoid: copying a reference from another paper without checking it against the original, trusting a PDF filename for the title or year, and mixing two styles in one list. Each of these looks harmless alone and careless together. Run the tool, read its output once, and compare it with the source itself before you paste it into your document.
Before you submit
Run through this short check before you submit: is every author name spelled as it appears on the source, is every year present and correct, and does every in-text citation have a matching entry in your reference list? Read the list once from top to bottom rather than skimming it. Most referencing errors are found in that single slow read, and fixing them there is far cheaper than fixing them after a reviewer finds them. If one entry still looks odd after that read, check it against the original source before you change anything else.
Frequently asked questions
Is this tool really free?
Yes. It runs in your browser on this page, with no account and no payment. Nothing you paste leaves your computer.
Do I still need to check the result?
Yes, once. Tools apply rules; they cannot verify facts about your source. Compare the output with the source itself before submitting.
Can I use the output in my paper?
Yes. The output is a formatted reference or analysis for your own work. Keep the source’s facts accurate and the formatting consistent across your list.
What if the tool’s output differs from my style guide?
Trust the style guide. Tools encode the common rules of a style; your university or journal’s own sheet wins every disagreement. Use the tool to do the routine work, then apply the local rule where it differs.
Also available in Spanish: Marcador de Tiempo para Medios Audiovisuales – Cita Marcas de Tiempo Exactas de Vídeo y Audio Gratis.