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The new era of advertising is upon us… and no, I’m not talking about AR, XR, QR codes, or anything Web3 related. I’m talking about the shift away from big-budget commercials toward little vertical videos wedged between the viral clips and the latest dance trend. User-Generated Content (UGC for short) is an umbrella term for pretty much anything a regular person posts on TikTok or Instagram, but in this article it means the content made to sell or endorse a product. Have you seen those TikTok Shop videos? Yes, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. They’re shot to look unpolished and relatable on purpose, because that’s what people trust, and trust is what gets a viewer to tap the link. The creator gets a cut through the affiliate program and the brand moves product.
“Okay, so I just grab an iPhone and start shooting?” Well… yes, but also no. The video should look like a regular person shot it on their phone. But “casual” and “bad” are two different things. Muddy audio, a dark frame, and a messy cut are what get you swiped past in under a second, and a video nobody finishes sells nothing. Clear audio and a well-lit face are the two things that keep someone watching. And better-looking content equals longer view times and more conversions 😉
I don’t make UGC myself. (And if the creator in the clip is going to be synthetic, the kit changes completely… that pipeline is in our Higgsfield AI influencer walkthrough.) I’m on the post side of the polished stuff it’s replacing. But the creators I know keep asking what to buy, and the answer fits on one list: a camera, a mic, a light, a tripod, and something to cut on. Let’s dive in.
TL;DR, here’s the UGC kit I’d hand a creator who asked me what to buy. The “why” behind each pick is below.
- Camera: iPhone 17 Pro (or the base iPhone 17 if you’re not grading)
- Recording drive: Kingston XS1000 2TB SSD
- Microphone: DJI Mic 3 for on-camera, Elgato Wave:3 MK.2 for voiceover
- Lighting: Neewer 18″ ring light
- Tripod: Joby GripTight PRO 2 GorillaPod
- Editing: CapCut, Premiere Pro, or DaVinci Resolve
How to film UGC content
So you can just use an iPhone but tbh… you are better off using an Arri Alexa 35 with a vertical mount.
For the low investment of $75,000, you can now have your videos capture the attention of viewers for an additional 0.34 seconds due to the irresistible colors, bokeh, and dynamic range of the Arri Alexa 35. But who are we kidding, this is pointless. The whole point of UGC is to make it look unprofessional. But unprofessional doesn’t mean looking bad… there is a way to make unprofessional look great. Let’s begin.
The best camera for UGC creators
As a professional filmmaker, I’d usually point you at a Sony or Canon mirrorless. But for UGC? The iPhone 17 Pro is the camera. The video quality is nuts, it has a USB-C port so pulling files off is painless, and it shoots ProRes, which keeps your colors clean until it’s time to export. And honestly, if you’re not grading your footage, the regular iPhone 17 at $799 will shoot UGC all day. The Pro just gets you ProRes and a bit more headroom if you want it. And if you’re weighing a proper mirrorless instead, our edit-ready camera guide breaks down what each body costs you in post.
For UGC, here are the iPhone settings I’d lock in:
- Record Video: 4k at 30FPS (60 if I’m moving around a crazy amount)
- Enhanced Stabilization: On
- HDR Video: Off (important as HDR video can be a bit of a pain when posting to TikTok and in the edit)
- Lock White Balance: On
- Camera Capture: High Efficiency
- Apple ProRes: On (Yes it uses more space but it keeps the colors looking so much better until it’s time to export. If space is an issue, leaving it off is not the end of the world)
I’m also a huge fan of recording straight to an external drive. It makes getting files off the phone a non-issue and lets you grab longer takes. For UGC I’d reach for the Kingston XS1000. It’s a proper SSD, so it keeps up with ProRes instead of choking and dropping frames, and it’s pocket-small. If you’re only shooting short clips in HEVC, a cheap USB-C flash drive works fine too. But the second you turn ProRes on, you want the SSD.
Choosing a UGC microphone
Now, the standard iPhone mic has gotten better… but it’s still not great. Sure, you can always record your voiceovers under a blanket to minimize echo, but at the end of the day, it still has that tinny/hollow sound that just sounds cheap. And your voice? Well, it’s worth a million bucks, so let’s make it sound like it.
Lavalier microphones
The lavalier, or lav mic, is the little clip-on you’ve seen in a thousand TikToks, usually pinned near the collar. The newest of the breed is Elgato’s $99.99 Wave Go, a clip-on that also docks into a handheld for street interviews. It works because it never leaves your chest: consistent distance, consistent sound, take after take.
The downside is that you can see it. A mic in frame reads “produced,” which cuts against the whole casual UGC look, and cheap lavs love to rub against a collar and ruin an otherwise perfect take. Plenty of creators wear one on purpose anyway, as part of the look.
If that’s the look you’re going for, grab the DJI Mic 3. It’s wireless, it sounds fantastic, and the killer feature is that each transmitter records a 32-bit float backup straight to its own internal storage. Translation: even if your levels come in way too hot or way too quiet, you can rescue the audio in post instead of reshooting. You also get two transmitters in the box, so you can mic up a second person for an interview or a duo, and the charging case gets you through a full day of shooting. Yeah, it costs more than a basic lav, but that backup track alone is worth the extra cash. You just sync the sound up in Adobe Premiere Pro during the edit, so you’re never fighting to plug something into the iPhone. And if you want the full wireless field beyond DJI, we ranked it in the wireless mics guide. If it’s down to the Mic 3 or the Rode Wireless Pro, the head-to-head settles it.
Condenser microphones
A condenser is the desk mic. It’s more sensitive than a dynamic and picks up a wider range of frequencies, which is why studio voiceover sounds the way it does. It needs power to run (USB handles that here). One warning that comes with the territory: that same sensitivity means it will happily record your ceiling fan, your fridge, and the neighbor’s dog, so park it in the quietest room you’ve got.
For UGC projects, the Elgato Wave:3 MK.2 is the one I’d buy. It sounds clean out of the box, and the free Wave Link software is a proper little mixer, so your voiceover levels stop being a guessing game.
The workflow is simple: film on the iPhone, record the voiceover straight into Premiere Pro (or whatever you cut in), and lay it over the edit. Two sources, one clean mix.
How to light yourself (or the product) for video
Okay… my bias first: I like a standard 3-point lighting setup for pretty much everything I film. However, this isn’t always practical (or easy) for newcomers to UGC creation and definitely takes more time to get “just right” than one would anticipate.
When I’m in a rush, though, a nice ring light usually does the trick. And as the adage goes, “Any light is better than no light.” However, when you search ‘Ring Light’ on Amazon, there are literally hundreds to choose from. It’s overwhelming, to say the least, so I’ve narrowed it down to the brand that looks the best at an affordable price.
The Neewer Ring Light has two color modes, a carrying case, a Bluetooth remote, and a built-in iPhone holder with a stand… so, basically, there is no need for a tripod! It’s a fantastic all-in-one solution.
Yes, there are options that are much cheaper, but… you get what you pay for, and those things break super easily. Also, a lot of cheap LEDs have a flicker and sometimes an awful green hue that makes your skin look “dead,” to say the least.
iPhone tripods (the good ones)
I feel like people have forgotten about how awesome these little Joby GorillaPods are. They are super portable, can act as a stand, can be mounted to anything, and best of all, work as a great vlog-style camera grip. Even if you already got the Neewer ring light with the built-in stand… I’d just pick one of these up too for convenience’s sake. I’ve had mine for 7 years, and it is still going strong. Grab the GripTight PRO 2 GorillaPod version, it comes with a locking phone mount built right in so you don’t need a separate clamp.
Video editing software for TikTok
We have three main options for video editing: CapCut, Adobe Premiere Pro, and DaVinci Resolve. Each has a real case, and here’s how I’d split them.
CapCut
CapCut is where most UGC creators start, and it’s the right call. It’s free, it runs on your phone or a laptop, and the templates, captions, and export presets line up with TikTok because they were built for it.
CapCut is a ByteDance product, same parent company as TikTok. For pure UGC work it covers everything you need, and the slightly rough edit style it produces is exactly the register this content is supposed to have.
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro is the step up when CapCut starts feeling small. It’s what I cut on professionally: proper multitrack timelines, real audio tools, and a plugin for everything. For a UGC creator the real payoff is speed at volume, so if you’re juggling multiple clients, the templates and batch exports are the reason to pay for it.
DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve is the other pro option, and the base version is free, not free-with-a-watermark. The learning curve is steeper than CapCut’s, but it’s no harder to learn than Premiere.
The pitch is that one app covers editing, color, audio, and VFX, so you stop bouncing between programs. The color tools are the best in the business at any price, and if your UGC niche is making products look expensive (skincare, tech, food), that grade happens in Resolve. The Fairlight page is a full audio mixing suite too. If you’re planning bigger content down the road (multicam, real grades, heavier sound work), start here and save yourself a migration later.
In conclusion
And that’s the kit. UGC works because it feels like a person talking, not a brand, and nothing above changes that. The gear just removes the reasons people swipe away: bad light, muddy audio, a shaky frame. Which editor you cut in, CapCut, Adobe Premiere Pro, or DaVinci Resolve, matters a lot less than the audio and the light.
If you add gear in order, mic first, light second, everything else after, you’ll see the difference in your very next video. The Elgato Wave:3 MK.2 and the Neewer Ring Light are the two upgrades that show up on screen immediately, and neither will make your videos look “produced.”
Past that, it’s reps. No kit on earth replaces your take on the product, so keep the setup simple, post consistently, and let the gear stay invisible. Got a UGC setup question I didn’t cover? Drop it in the comments!
