Back in the day, blacklights were all the rage. I know I had one, as well as several velvet posters that completed the atmosphere in my very angsty teenage bedroom. 

But blacklights aren't only great for the domestic teen angst aesthetic. They can be used to turn your set into a very stylish and otherworldly creep show, but for a lot of indie filmmakers, buying up a bunch of blacklight bulbs just isn't in the budgetary cards.

In this video, Jakob Owens from The Buff Nerds shows you a couple of ways you can light your set with blacklights without the bulbs. Check it out below:

As Jakob states, one way you can pull this look off is by throwing some Congo Blue gels over your lights. Granted, those lights have to be powerful enough to compensate for how much light is being cut by the gel itself. They usually get a sheet for around $7.

If you don't have lights, Owens also suggests cutting a circular or square piece of Congo Blue and placing it over your lens. So, it's essentially "blacklight" without the light...well, there's always light, but you know what I mean. This technique would work great for outdoor shots in particular.

Have you ever used these tricks before? Let us know how it went down in the comments.

Source: TheBuffNerds

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