Here's an easy cheap - fast way to light your interview scene that shouldn't take more than $100 and less than 10 min to make and to setup & tear down - sometimes it only takes me about 2-3 to tear down the lighting and it really does a decent job.
Here's the rundown:
1) Go to Kmart/walmart/target/wherever - and buy lightbulbs that are flourecent and thread in to normal sockets (I usually suggest between the 75 - 135 equivelant range) and get them in either/both 6500K/3200K ranges so that you can match the lighting of the light in your existing scenes, they should only cost about $4-8 a piece. (6500-13000+ = sunlight/daylight and pretty much all appears the same. 3200 = "softwhite" incadecent bulbs that you usually see in just about every place in existance. If there's flourecent tubes lighting the place.... JUST SHOOT SOMEWHERE ELSE - the ballasts on those things shifts so badly that if you fastforward through footage you can see the colors actually cycling - HATE THOSE THINGS!!!)
2) pick up some bulb thread to 2 prong plug adapters and screw them right on the bottom of your lights ($.99 a piece when I got them at walmart)
3) Go to your local music store (you may want to bring the adapted bulbs with you) and buy a couple of relatively high music stands that are fairly transportable and don't have HUGE footprints (I suggest the ones with folding tripod legs as apposed to the weighted bottoms- the tripod legs may take up a slightly larger footprint but the ease of transporting them, more than makes up for the increased area they use). (Probably going to run around $40 per stand - this is by far the most expensive part of the deal - you may find a better price online but I like to go to the store and make sure I know they're going to be stable.)
4) MAKE SURE - to buy holding clips (the piece right on the top of the stand the holds the mic normally) that are large enough to hold your light but tight enough to keep them from falling etc... (I personally like the kind that can spring closed on the light bulb thread adapter and hold it from slipping, it's the fastes/easiest type of clip for this type of thing that I know of. (not sure of the cost on these - but I'd try and get one with it - to save the extra dough if you need to)
5) Now - all you need are a as many extension chords (These can be those cheap little 1 plug on one side 2 on the other style) as you have bulbs you want to use. I'm assuming that you'll have some around the house so I don't have a price for these
6) And last but not least - a zip strp (AKA - A power strip) then just plug in the power strip to the outlet (may require an extension chord to get the power to your strip) and plug the lights into the zipstrip (quick side note - TAPE THE SWITCH INTO AN IMOBILE ON POSITION - I'm sure you can guess why Wink ).
OK - now here's how you put that into action (if you haven't already figured it out):
1) screw the bulbs in to the adapters - ahh HAH - Got ya there didn't I :)
2) put the stands up where you want the lights to go
3) put the lights (clamped at the plug adapter) into the light stands
(steps 3 & 4 are interchangeable - and can be done at your discretion.... well - really most of this is so just ignore me and do whatever you want Wink)
4) Plug the cheapo extension chords into the backs of the bulbs and then into the zipstrip (power strip)
5) adjust accordingly - this will be much easier if the stand you got are able to bend at the middle and are comprised of 2 separate poles that then just fold down next to one another when you are packing up.
6) If you are finding that the BG (background, not Bride/groom) is too dark - you can get some more bulbs and plug adapters, and just plug them into another zipstrip and set that on the ground or a table or something in BG between the subjects and the majority of what's behind them to put some additional light there, then just move the lights (on the BG and the subjects) untill enough light is bouncing back to the camera to mix properly. I suggest darker lights in the BG if it is really just about as close as they are - so that there's nothing that is overwhelmingly distracting while they're talking.
OK - now - here's the bonus round:
Hey - THESE LIGHTS ARE TOO HARSH ( however unlikely that will be, as they're soft source lights to begin with, you can still sometimes find a shadow that's alittle on the harsh side coming accross a face or something like that ). Here's your answer...
1) take some foamcore/anything lightweight and rigid
2) create a "box" with no front and a hole drilled in the back - that's sides are as long as your bulb is or just a little longer when at about a 45 degree angle away from the bulb, *MAKE SURE THE BACK IS LARGE ENOUGH TO BE JUST A LITTLE PAST THE SIZE OF THE BULB AT THE MINIMUM*
3) Now - you should have a trapezoid (think that's the right word) looking pyramid type of thing if you place the (no front open space) to the bottm and the "holy" back facing up.
4) fasten the peices in some fasion (glue - duct tape - whatever you want - so that they are gonna stay in that shape.
5) take a very thin piece of cloth - be it sheer or whatever, and adhear it to the front - using velcro - would be a good idea for this - because if it tears - or if you need to replace the bulb - you dont' have to destroy/build a new box. (make sure that your fabric is in fact white and not going to shift the color of the light, unless that's what you want to do with it.)
6) put the bulb in the box and thread the plug on the back. You can either make the hole small enough that the plug will actually hold it there, or you can let the clip do that part (if placed right), or you can adhear the "box" to the plug so that you just pull off the fabric and replace the bulb. I suggest the last one myself - that way you can have 2 - 3 boxes and just put in the appropriate light for each.
Anyway - this got a little longer than I had planned - hope it helps ya - I do a lot of interviews (not weddings/love stories, but for coporate/promotional videos) and existing light vs. "pofessionally" lit is the number 1 thing (short of not useing a freakin tripod) that can make your work look amaturish - IMO - so I hope this will help, and give you a realtively cheap/decent looking to the camera lighting solution.
BTW - that "box" also helps to make it look less amaturish when you're shooting - (don't get as many funny looks that way).
I suggest getting a little cutomizable foam suitcase (Promaster makes some realtively innexpensive ones that do the trick) that you can just slip your bulbs and boxes into predefined spots, and just have to carry around a little suitcase rather than a bunch of bulbs and "boxes" etc... - you'll have enough junk with the stands etc... that you don't need anymore hasle.
Enjoy :)
Here's the rundown:
1) Go to Kmart/walmart/target/wherever - and buy lightbulbs that are flourecent and thread in to normal sockets (I usually suggest between the 75 - 135 equivelant range) and get them in either/both 6500K/3200K ranges so that you can match the lighting of the light in your existing scenes, they should only cost about $4-8 a piece. (6500-13000+ = sunlight/daylight and pretty much all appears the same. 3200 = "softwhite" incadecent bulbs that you usually see in just about every place in existance. If there's flourecent tubes lighting the place.... JUST SHOOT SOMEWHERE ELSE - the ballasts on those things shifts so badly that if you fastforward through footage you can see the colors actually cycling - HATE THOSE THINGS!!!)
2) pick up some bulb thread to 2 prong plug adapters and screw them right on the bottom of your lights ($.99 a piece when I got them at walmart)
3) Go to your local music store (you may want to bring the adapted bulbs with you) and buy a couple of relatively high music stands that are fairly transportable and don't have HUGE footprints (I suggest the ones with folding tripod legs as apposed to the weighted bottoms- the tripod legs may take up a slightly larger footprint but the ease of transporting them, more than makes up for the increased area they use). (Probably going to run around $40 per stand - this is by far the most expensive part of the deal - you may find a better price online but I like to go to the store and make sure I know they're going to be stable.)
4) MAKE SURE - to buy holding clips (the piece right on the top of the stand the holds the mic normally) that are large enough to hold your light but tight enough to keep them from falling etc... (I personally like the kind that can spring closed on the light bulb thread adapter and hold it from slipping, it's the fastes/easiest type of clip for this type of thing that I know of. (not sure of the cost on these - but I'd try and get one with it - to save the extra dough if you need to)
5) Now - all you need are a as many extension chords (These can be those cheap little 1 plug on one side 2 on the other style) as you have bulbs you want to use. I'm assuming that you'll have some around the house so I don't have a price for these
6) And last but not least - a zip strp (AKA - A power strip) then just plug in the power strip to the outlet (may require an extension chord to get the power to your strip) and plug the lights into the zipstrip (quick side note - TAPE THE SWITCH INTO AN IMOBILE ON POSITION - I'm sure you can guess why Wink ).
OK - now here's how you put that into action (if you haven't already figured it out):
1) screw the bulbs in to the adapters - ahh HAH - Got ya there didn't I :)
2) put the stands up where you want the lights to go
3) put the lights (clamped at the plug adapter) into the light stands
(steps 3 & 4 are interchangeable - and can be done at your discretion.... well - really most of this is so just ignore me and do whatever you want Wink)
4) Plug the cheapo extension chords into the backs of the bulbs and then into the zipstrip (power strip)
5) adjust accordingly - this will be much easier if the stand you got are able to bend at the middle and are comprised of 2 separate poles that then just fold down next to one another when you are packing up.
6) If you are finding that the BG (background, not Bride/groom) is too dark - you can get some more bulbs and plug adapters, and just plug them into another zipstrip and set that on the ground or a table or something in BG between the subjects and the majority of what's behind them to put some additional light there, then just move the lights (on the BG and the subjects) untill enough light is bouncing back to the camera to mix properly. I suggest darker lights in the BG if it is really just about as close as they are - so that there's nothing that is overwhelmingly distracting while they're talking.
OK - now - here's the bonus round:
Hey - THESE LIGHTS ARE TOO HARSH ( however unlikely that will be, as they're soft source lights to begin with, you can still sometimes find a shadow that's alittle on the harsh side coming accross a face or something like that ). Here's your answer...
1) take some foamcore/anything lightweight and rigid
2) create a "box" with no front and a hole drilled in the back - that's sides are as long as your bulb is or just a little longer when at about a 45 degree angle away from the bulb, *MAKE SURE THE BACK IS LARGE ENOUGH TO BE JUST A LITTLE PAST THE SIZE OF THE BULB AT THE MINIMUM*
3) Now - you should have a trapezoid (think that's the right word) looking pyramid type of thing if you place the (no front open space) to the bottm and the "holy" back facing up.
4) fasten the peices in some fasion (glue - duct tape - whatever you want - so that they are gonna stay in that shape.
5) take a very thin piece of cloth - be it sheer or whatever, and adhear it to the front - using velcro - would be a good idea for this - because if it tears - or if you need to replace the bulb - you dont' have to destroy/build a new box. (make sure that your fabric is in fact white and not going to shift the color of the light, unless that's what you want to do with it.)
6) put the bulb in the box and thread the plug on the back. You can either make the hole small enough that the plug will actually hold it there, or you can let the clip do that part (if placed right), or you can adhear the "box" to the plug so that you just pull off the fabric and replace the bulb. I suggest the last one myself - that way you can have 2 - 3 boxes and just put in the appropriate light for each.
Anyway - this got a little longer than I had planned - hope it helps ya - I do a lot of interviews (not weddings/love stories, but for coporate/promotional videos) and existing light vs. "pofessionally" lit is the number 1 thing (short of not useing a freakin tripod) that can make your work look amaturish - IMO - so I hope this will help, and give you a realtively cheap/decent looking to the camera lighting solution.
BTW - that "box" also helps to make it look less amaturish when you're shooting - (don't get as many funny looks that way).
I suggest getting a little cutomizable foam suitcase (Promaster makes some realtively innexpensive ones that do the trick) that you can just slip your bulbs and boxes into predefined spots, and just have to carry around a little suitcase rather than a bunch of bulbs and "boxes" etc... - you'll have enough junk with the stands etc... that you don't need anymore hasle.
Enjoy :)