Guide
UGC portfolio videos: how many to make, which formats to film and how to edit each one
Updated
Start with three to six short samples, each a different format, such as a review, an unboxing, a demo and a problem-and-solution video, filmed with products you already own. Here's how many the guides suggest, how to film each format and how to edit them.
In short
- A UGC portfolio needs a few short vertical sample videos, each a different format, such as a review, an unboxing, a demo and a problem-and-solution video.
- Advice on the number differs. elev8or says three strong videos is enough to start, Crepal suggests four to six and JoinBrands eight to twelve.
- You can film the samples with products you already own, as long as you label them as samples and not as paid work.
- elev8or suggests picking products from one area of your life, such as skincare, kitchen or your desk, so a brand sees what you do.
- Cutroom's Magic Editor edits each sample from one clip of you talking, and if you want to see a clip in another look, switching the style rebuilds the edit for 120 credits and keeps the earlier version.
What videos should a UGC portfolio have?
A portfolio needs a few short, vertical samples that each show a different skill, made with real products. Quality matters more than the count, and the strongest video goes first.
The portfolio guides agree on that, but not on how many videos you need.
- Make the samples about products you own. elev8or calls these spec samples an accepted way to start.
- Label them as sample work. Crepal warns against presenting a sample as paid client work.
- Keep them short. elev8or suggests 15 to 30 seconds, and JoinBrands says to leave out anything over 60 seconds unless it's for YouTube.
- Leave out dance videos, vlogs and lifestyle clips, which JoinBrands lists as things to skip.
What three portfolio guides advise
As each guide publishes it, read on 12 November 2026.
| Guide | How many videos | Also says |
|---|---|---|
| elev8or | Three strong ones to start | Keep each 15 to 30 seconds and put the best first |
| Crepal | Four to six to start | Four strong videos do more than twelve average ones |
| JoinBrands | Eight to twelve of your best | Nothing over 60 seconds unless it's for YouTube |
Guide: elev8or
- How many videos
- Three strong ones to start
- Also says
- Keep each 15 to 30 seconds and put the best first
Guide: Crepal
- How many videos
- Four to six to start
- Also says
- Four strong videos do more than twelve average ones
Guide: JoinBrands
- How many videos
- Eight to twelve of your best
- Also says
- Nothing over 60 seconds unless it's for YouTube
Sample formats brands look for, and how to film each
The guides list the same handful of formats: reviews, unboxings, demos, tutorials and problem-and-solution videos. Each one shows a brand a different skill, so film each sample as its own short clip.
- A review shows you can give an honest opinion on camera. Film a claim, two things the product does and your verdict. In Cutroom, the Verdict style is made for reviews, "I tried it" videos and comparisons.
- An unboxing shows the first moment with a product. Start with the box closed, open it on camera and say what you notice, talking the whole time.
- A demo shows the product working while you talk, so film a short clip of it in use. In Cutroom's Skit style, your photos slide in over your face while you talk and the video ends on a phone playing that clip.
- A problem-and-solution video shows you can sell: you name a problem in the first line, then show the product fixing it.
- A tutorial shows you can teach something in a few steps. Cutroom's Steps style is made for tips and how-to's, with your photos and clips in floating windows and one big word at a time under them.
How Cutroom's Magic Editor edits a video like this
Jacob is the AI editor inside Cutroom's Magic Editor: it edits your video for you, then changes it when you ask in a chat.
The 4 styles, as example edits
Steps
Three steps, four angles
Skit
Hook, hard stop, demo card
Verdict
The tester's verdict
Poster
Typography does the talking
Hover or tap an example to play it, without sound. These are example edits of each style; the presenters in them are generated with AI.
- Your take: one video of you talking, up to 3 minutes
- Your style: one of 4: Steps, Skit, Verdict or Poster
- Your files: screenshots, a screen recording or a logo, if you have them
- Your goal: what the video is for, in a few words, if you like
- Jacob makes it: normally 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email
- Your edit: ask Jacob for changes in a chat, then export
Then you ask Jacob, for example
- “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”
- “Put a clip on the strongest sentence”
- “Change the music to something calmer”
Each change is a new version, and going back is free. First cut 250 credits, each change 40, questions free, export 30 credits per started minute.
Editing each sample
Keep each sample short, cut the slow start and the ums, add captions and show the product when you name it. elev8or suggests 15 to 30 seconds per video.
In Cutroom's Magic Editor, you upload the clip, add product photos, pick a style and press "Make my video". Jacob, its AI editor, makes the whole edit, and you change it by asking in a chat.
- Film upright, in a quiet room, with one product and one clear message. The clip can be up to 3 minutes long.
- Add three or four product photos in the "Your files" step. Steps and Verdict ask for at least two files.
- It normally takes 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email when your first cut is ready.
- Ask for changes in plain words, such as "Make this about 10 seconds shorter" or "Remove all the ums and uhs". Each change costs 40 credits and makes a new version.
- To see the same clip in another look, ask "Switch this to the Poster style". The edit is rebuilt for 120 credits, and your first version stays. The words stay the same, so it's the same sample in a new look, not a new format.
- Export the version you like, and label it as sample work in your portfolio.
A desk lamp review sample, before and after the edit
The review sample drawn in the Verdict style. A request in the chat makes it shorter or rebuilds it in another look, and every earlier version stays.
Drawing of an example clip, not a customer video
Before · the clip as filmed
A 40-second phone video of a new UGC creator reviewing the desk lamp she owns
“So, um, I work late, and this lamp got rid of the glare on my screen. It's got, uh, It has three light colours and it dims with one touch. … (pause) Honestly, it's the best thing on my desk.”
struck through = what Jacob cuts
After · Jacob's first edit, Verdict style
“I work late, and this lamp got rid of the glare on my screen. It has three light colours and it dims with one touch. Honestly, it's the best thing on my desk.”
- On “glare”: the word set big in your accent colour
- On “lamp”: your photo lamp.jpg on a laptop screen, with you in a small card
- On “touch”: your photo dimmer.jpg on the laptop screen
- Under the whole video: ambient music under your voice
- On “desk”: after the last word, a typed call to action and a follow card
window: lamp.jpg
Then you ask Jacob
- “Make this about 10 seconds shorter”v2the same review about 10 seconds shorter, with your opening claim and your verdict kept
- “Switch this to the Poster style”v3the same words rebuilt in the Poster look for 120 credits: big stacked words, a black-and-white moment and a neon number, with version 1 kept
Where to put your portfolio, and what else goes on it
Put the samples where a brand can play them in one click. elev8or suggests a link-in-bio page or a one-page site. A shared folder or a Notion page works too, it says, if the videos play inline and load quickly.
Your social profile works too if the samples are pinned, though elev8or says a separate page looks more professional.
- Open with one line about what you make, such as "I make short vertical ads for kitchen and home brands".
- List the formats you offer, so a brand knows what to ask for.
- Add a way to contact you and a from-price, so brands don't have to guess.
- Put your strongest video first, and label every sample as sample work.
What the samples cost to make in Cutroom
Each sample is its own clip. It costs 250 credits for the first edit and 30 credits per started minute to export. A sample under a minute comes to 280 credits.
Free exports carry a Cutroom mark across the middle, which you don't want on portfolio samples. Lite is $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits, with no mark.
- Lite's 1,250 monthly credits cover 4 samples at that price.
- A chat request that changes a sample, such as making it shorter, costs 40 credits.
- Switching a sample to another style costs 120 credits.
- Questions to Jacob that change nothing are free, up to 20 a day, and exporting an unchanged version again is free.
Credits for four samples, one clip each
Each sample edited once and exported once at up to a minute long. Prices as the Magic Editor charges them.
| Sample | Credits |
|---|---|
| Review | 280 |
| Unboxing | 280 |
| Demo | 280 |
| Problem and solution | 280 |
| Total | 1120 |
Sample: Review
- Credits
- 280
Sample: Unboxing
- Credits
- 280
Sample: Demo
- Credits
- 280
Sample: Problem and solution
- Credits
- 280
Sample: Total
- Credits
- 1120
Questions people ask
- How many videos should a UGC portfolio have?
- Advice differs, but a few strong videos do more than many average ones. elev8or says three is enough to start, Crepal suggests four to six, and JoinBrands suggests eight to twelve of your best.
- Can I make UGC portfolio videos with products I already own?
- Yes. elev8or calls spec samples made with your own products an accepted way to start, and Crepal says to label them as sample work, never as paid client work.
- How long should UGC portfolio videos be?
- Short. elev8or suggests 15 to 30 seconds each, and JoinBrands says to leave out videos over 60 seconds unless they're for YouTube.
- What types of videos go in a UGC portfolio?
- A mix that shows different skills, such as a review, an unboxing, a product demo and a problem-and-solution video. Crepal and elev8or both list testimonials, unboxings and problem-solution videos among the formats.
- Where should I host my UGC portfolio?
- On a page a brand can open in one click. elev8or suggests a link-in-bio page or a one-page site, says a shared folder or a Notion page works if the videos play inline, and says your social profile works if the samples are pinned.
- Do I need editing skills to make UGC portfolio videos?
- No. Jacob, the AI editor in Cutroom's Magic Editor, makes the whole edit from one clip of you talking, and you change it by asking in a chat. It normally takes 10 to 15 minutes, and you get an email when your first cut is ready.
Pick a product on your desk, film a short review of it and let Jacob make your first sample. Your first video is free.