Need simple coffee shop interview lighting setup suggestions

[AAC]

I can't find a lighting forum here or I overlooked. If I posted to the wrong section, MOD please move me to the right place.

Anyway, I'm going to shoot a 5 minutes interview video for my friends in their coffee shop (typical Stxxbxxk setup). It will be two people sitting and talking in the coffee shop in the evening or later afternoon. I have two 6 florescent tubes lighting panels but they offer 5600K daylight color temp. Just wondering if there are simple options to create a warm color temperature video to maintain the warm ambient light in store (behind them) but correct color temp lighting on faces ? Do I need to replace florescent tubes to 3200K or do I have other less expensive options ?

Thanks.

[Cornucopia]

Your best bet is to match the color temp of all your light sources. Next best is to go with the dominant source. It seems to me, you have 3: Overhead shop lights (3200ºK incandescents), your own CFL lamps, and light coming in through the windows from outdoors. Afternoon/evening is warmer, but still isn't down to 3200 levels.
Your 5600ºK CFL lamps would roughly match the light coming in from outdoors. And those 2 would likely provide the bulk of the illumination on an interview subject.
If you can get the overheads gelled with 3200->5600 filters, great. Otherwise & regardless, the matching of the other 2 sources and WB on 5600ºK is probably your best bet. Then, even if the shop lights are in the shot, they would just be warmer spot regions. Kind of like accents.
Doing it this way also allows you to add bounce cards (using the daylight and/or CFL lamps' source) to fill in background or other areas where your CFL lamps are too weak to throw.

Using the current info, that's what I'd do, at least.

HTH,
Scott

[AAC]

I only have two set of CFL panel. If I need to add head light as the attached picture in the video, what extra light do I need ? I know CFL light panel produces even lighting to subject. Not sure if it can create hair/head light or I need hard light ? What will be the less expensive way to get it done ?

[Cornucopia]

Key, Fill, Bkgd, Highlight/Rim are the basic 4 points.

Assuming you have 2 CFL floods, and your are on location at a St*****ks (and they're OK with you being there, etc), I would start by trying it this way:
Background wall at vertical (6 & 12 o'clock, N & S)
Key light=Sunlight/skylight coming in from main windows (3 o'clock, E)
No Bkgd light, just use original shop down lights from store.
Subject/Talent is facing 4:30/SE, Camera is facing 10:30/NW
Fill light (CFL) is 5:30/SxSE facing 11:30/NxNW (near to subject & cam)
Rim light (CFL) is 8:00/WxSW facing 2:00/ExNE, Overhead
Use bounce cards & gobos for any extra fills or shadows.

Or, if you can get a clip-on hardware spot lamp (pretty cheap) and add gel (CC filter) to it, use that for the rim light and use the CFL for a background light (possibly side throw, or up throw from below).

There's plenty of other options, but it just depends on what kind of mood/theme/tone you are trying to set. Play with it.

Obviously, this plot can be rotated to almost any actual true coordinates; just remember Sun angle vs. time of day.

Scott

[AAC]

Thank you Scott for your advice.
I used to apply two CFL panels at SE and SW 45 degree throwing flat light to subject in most DIY video. But in this interview video, I want to try some special lighting to outline the head or upper body in front of dark background. There will be no natural night coming in after 7 pm. Not sure if the cheap hardlight/worklight from Home Dept will provide daylight color temp.

[smrpix]

I used to apply two CFL panels at SE and SW 45 degree throwing flat light to subject in most DIY video. But in this interview video, I want to try some special lighting to outline the head or upper body in front of dark background. There will be no natural night coming in after 7 pm.

Add a NNE light from slightly above to get a nice edge. Try moving your SE or SW light back a little to give more modeling on the face.

Not sure if the cheap hardlight/worklight from Home Dept will provide daylight color temp.

The fixture doesn't determine the color of the light, the lamp does. Plus, since you have no actual daylight you need to match, what difference does it make? (You can also mix warmer and cooler tones to give a more natural feel -- but don't overdo it.)

[AAC]

Any cool light can do the head light job ? Or it has to be a hard light ?

[smrpix]

Any cool light can do the head light job ? Or it has to be a hard light ?

Different fixtures give different qualities of light. The only rules are the ones you invent to meet your creative, artistic and narrative needs. You're not going to get a simple technical answer to an open-ended aesthetic question. Experiment and see what you like.

Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-OPfV-kq6Y#t=87

[AAC]

Any cool light can do the head light job ? Or it has to be a hard light ?

Different fixtures give different qualities of light. The only rules are the ones you invent to meet your creative, artistic and narrative needs. You're not going to get a simple technical answer to an open-ended aesthetic question. Experiment and see what you like.

That's true. Since this is a one-off no pay job for my friend's new coffee shop, I'm doing my best to make this video works without adding too much rarely used lighting features.

[smrpix]

Since this is a one-off no pay job for my friend's new coffee shop, I'm doing my best to make this video works without adding too much rarely used lighting features.

If it looks good, no one cares what you spent. If it looks like crap, no one cares what you spent either.

[Cornucopia]

Don't get a surprise come shoot day - practice & do some test runs ahead of time, making sure the TimeOfDay matches.

Scott