Lighting for glow in the dark videos

Hi everyone. I’ve been wanting to do a bit of filming with glowing yoyos and string (like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-JEWTcYEcE) but I’m not sure how to set up the lighting. I was hoping to get some advice on how to set it up. Thanks.

All I know is you have to turn some of the lights off.

Haha, yeah, don’t worry I got that part :smiley: I’m currently using some neon yellow yoyonation strings which show up nice and bright in the UV light from a torch that I hang above me (the actual glow in the dark strings just look normal in UV light) but the torch doesn’t have a wide enough beam to capture all of the area that I’m yoyoing in so the string will be bright for one moment and then dark when it leaves the area lit by the torch.

I’m wondering if I should get some blacklight bulbs and use those while yoyoing instead of the torch that I’m currently using but I don’t want to spend any money if there is a better solution.

Black light bulbs do not really work well. Get yourself some actual black lights. Order online or pick up some from a place like Spencer Gifts in the mall or a local head shop if you’ve got those kind of stores around you. It doesn’t take a lot of black light to really work well. I am out of town right now and don’t know the watts on the ones I have currently but they’re not more than like 10-12 inches long and are shaped like standard fluorescent lights. Get a couple, set one up above you, beneath you. They’ll work great!

I’ve filmed myself with a blacklight and it works fine just turn off the lights and use a neon yellow or green string and enjoy.

Start with no lighting at all and see what type of exposure you are getting on the “Glow in the Dark” pieces of your shot. Typically you will need a small amount of light, but leep it as indirect as possible…reflecting it off the walls and/or ceiling & floor.

Keep adding small amounts of indirect lighting until you get what you want.