How to Make UGC Videos: 4 Formats, Filming, and Editing

To make a UGC video that performs, pick one of the four core formats (demo or review, tutorial, storytelling, or skit), build it around one idea, film it like a real person grabbing their phone, and edit it down to 10–35 seconds with no dead air. Viewers should feel they found something through a friend, not that someone sold it to them. This chapter takes a hook from your hook bank in chapter 3 and turns it into a finished video.

Four types of UGC videos to start with

This course uses four core formats, and many Canvas UGC briefs ask for them. Whatever format you choose, the rule is the same: it should feel natural, personal, and native to the platform. Before you post, ask yourself: "Would I believe a real creator posted this after finding something useful?"

Match the format to what the campaign's job listing or brief asks for. The four aren't a limit: once they work for you, try variants such as before-and-after or day-in-the-life, or any other format that fits the idea and feels native.

Product demo or review

Start with a strong, expressive reaction that still feels believable: surprised, excited, confused, relieved, or impressed. Then show the product naturally: open the app, show the feature, say what you noticed, and give your honest take. Your face and energy are part of the hook. A shocked face, a quick movement, or reacting before you speak can make the opening stop the scroll.

Tutorial or how-to

It should feel like showing a friend something useful, not teaching a class. Open with a simple, direct hook that names the viewer or the situation. Then show the steps quickly and casually on screen: explain only what the viewer needs, use everyday words instead of product jargon, and end with a natural takeaway.

Storytelling

Share something that happened to you instead of pitching a product. A simple story flow answers four questions:

1. What was happening before?
2. What was frustrating or surprising?
3. What did you try?
4. What changed?

You don't need huge results. Small, specific, believable moments feel more natural than big promises. Only say you use the app if you do.

Skit

Show a relatable moment the viewer has actually lived, then bring in the product as the thing that makes it easier. Start with the chaotic or relatable moment itself and keep the acting simple.

One video, one idea, one takeaway

You don't need to explain the whole product in every video. Pick one idea, one angle, or one thing you want the viewer to understand, and build the video around it. You can mention other features when they fit, but never everything at once.

Before you film, write a three-line outline:

1. Hook: the opening line and what's on screen.
2. What you'll show: the one feature, moment, or result.
3. Takeaway: the one line the viewer should remember.

For example, with the hook "POV: you finally found an app that plans your meals for the week", you could start on your face, switch to the screen, scroll through a week of meals, and come back to your reaction.

Set up your filming space

• Use your phone's front or back camera, whichever feels more natural.
• Find a quiet spot with decent light. A window or a simple lamp is enough.
• Clean the lens, then record a quick 5-second test to check sound and framing.

How to film UGC so it feels native

Think about the videos on your For You page. They're quick, personal, a little messy, and full of personality. Nobody on them is reading an ad script.

Imagine you're FaceTiming your best friend about something you just discovered. A lot of short-form content looks exactly like that: someone in their car, in bed, walking around their room, eating, getting ready, or at their desk with the laptop lighting their face. The phone is handheld, the angle is a bit off, the background is messy, and that's fine. What matters is that it looks like a real person grabbed their phone, not like someone sat down to make an advertisement.

Things to experiment with:

• Film in different places: your bed, car, desk, kitchen, couch, or wherever fits the idea.
• Keep the phone in your hand. A moving camera feels more natural than a perfectly static shot.
• Try different angles: 0.5x, close-ups, from slightly above or below, over the shoulder, or you and your screen at once.
• Do something while you talk: eat, walk, get ready, use your laptop, or scroll your phone.
• Start in the middle of something. Don't set up the camera and then start talking; start while you're already doing something.
• Show the interesting thing fast. If the video is about an app, don't spend half of it explaining before we see it.
• Use movement: turn the camera, point at something, bring the phone closer to the screen, or switch angles when it makes sense.

Delivery

• Tone. Talk the way you normally talk. Casual, direct, a little messy is fine. Avoid presenter voice.
• Pacing. Keep it moving. If a sentence feels slow when you say it out loud, shorten it.
• Energy. You don't need to be loud or fake-hyped, but you need to sound interested. Bored sounds get scrolled.
• Emphasis. Stress the words that matter, such as the problem, the result, or the key benefit.
• Pauses. Use short pauses to let important lines land, then cut any that drag in the edit.
• The lens. Look at the camera, not at your own face, and talk to one person, not "an audience."

Use a loose outline, not a memorized script. A slightly imperfect video with real delivery usually beats a "perfect" one that sounds robotic.

Record your hook and the main part

Start with the hook from your hook bank and plan all three of its parts: what viewers see, read, and hear in the first seconds (chapter 3 explains them).

1. Say the hook line out loud until it feels natural.
2. Add a small reaction: a facial expression, a movement, or looking at your phone.
3. Record 3–5 takes of just the hook and keep the one that feels most real.
4. Record 2–3 full takes of the main part, in short, conversational sentences.

Don't take long to get to the point. Once you have their attention, give them the reason to keep watching.

How to edit UGC videos

Edit for speed, not polish. Editing should make the video fast, natural, and easy to watch. It shouldn't make it look produced.

• Use any editing app you like, including the platform's own editor.
• Cut long pauses, breaths, mistakes, and anything unnecessary. Never leave a clip running when nothing is happening.
• Start the video right on the hook, with no seconds of getting ready to speak.
• Use quick cuts where they feel natural, and zoom in slightly to emphasize an important line.
• Keep it between 10 and 35 seconds, depending on the format.
• Use a sound from the platform you post to. Native audio usually performs better than an imported track.
• Skip fancy transitions and effects.

On-screen text

Keep on-screen text short and easy to read, written the way people write on TikTok and Reels. It should support the hook or the main idea and never cover your face or the product.

Good video vs. weak video

For app and software demos, the Tech UGC guide for creators goes deeper on screen recordings.

Your action steps

1. Pick one angle from your brief and one of the four core formats.
2. Write a three-line outline: hook, what you'll show, takeaway.
3. Film 3–5 takes of the hook and 2–3 full takes of the main part.
4. Edit to 10–35 seconds with a platform sound and short on-screen text.
5. Watch it once from start to finish and compare it with the good-vs-weak table.