Low Budget Lighting Hacks: Color & Dimming with Cheap Bulbs?

Hey everyone,

Amara here. I'm deep into pre-production for my next short documentary, shot primarily on an FX30, and the lighting budget is... well, virtually non-existent. I'm facing the classic indie filmmaker's dilemma: how to light scenes decently without proper gear.

I'm thinking of relying heavily on practicals and whatever cheap bulbs I can scrounge up or buy from a hardware store. My biggest concern isn't just brightness, but achieving some semblance of color control and dimming capability without ending up with horrific greens/mags or severe flicker that will make my footage unusable. I'm trying to avoid the absolute worst CRI/TLCI issues you see with some cheap LEDs.

I've tried gelling some basic household LED bulbs before, but dimming them always felt like a crapshoot, and the color shift was often unpredictable. Are there any specific types of cheap household bulbs (incandescent, LED, CFL) that are known to perform better, even if slightly? Any clever hacks for dimming non-dimmable fixtures or ways to 'color correct' on the fly with gels that aren't a total nightmare?

Really keen to hear your best hacks for making these limitations work. Thanks!