Excellent use for fluro lights. If you've got the budget those 'walls of light' are excellent, in fact I think some of their promo shots show cars or Harleys being lit with them.

Bob.

I once shot athletic shoes in a studio for a day before my client could join me. When he saw the footage he was very critical of it - "shoes are ALWAYS shot in a 3/4 view except for ecus"

You might apply the same thinking to a car, at least as far as static shots go.

I don't know if you are just lighting the car, or lighting actors within a car. The convention in movies for lighting in cars is that the dashboard lights are REALLY BRIGHT. Bright enough to light the faces of the actors. So the light comes from below. In most cases people don't think, "Hey that dashboard light, has more light than my reading lamp." In most cases viewers buy it.

Thanks guys,

It is only the cars, no actors...

My productions partners and I rent lights as required for specific shoots. Unfortunately, this shoot is being taken away from the local cable company, which would have made the commercial for $500 with the purchase of a flight. I saw a display of those rack floro lights at NAB lighting a car and it looked great. Unfortunately, we are going to have to go Macguiver on this one.

One of the shots is in the paint booth. It has white walls. I was thinking that we could point a bunch of 1000watt Halogen work lights at the walls...there definately is a good supply of those in the shop.

Thanks for your input
Al

What you need is a broad source of soft light. To do it on the cheap, stretch a white bedsheet a few feet away from the subject (just out of frame, for a car try above) and light the sheet with as much wattage as you can garner from the side opposite the subject. (make sure lights are far enough from the bedsheet as to not light it on fire).

Sources of light are one thing, but the trick here is -almost- more with the *reflexions* on the acutual car.
Usually white 20'x20' s (silks) hung over the car and "fine tuned" (the angle) depending on the axle the lens is recording so you get these white "pure" strips or surfaces of light "caressing" the car...

Why not find a real nice location and shoot it moving then fx-ing in Vegas? hee heee......
Naaah... don't listen to me ¦ )

I shot more local cable car commercials than I would care to admit last year, and I really liked the way moving footage came out in comparison to anything I could do on the lots or with lighting. Unless you have a studio that you can properly light the car with you won't have the definition you want like a Jag commercial or something. More often than not straight on shots get you a beautiful reflection of you operating your camera... lol
You say the place is a body shop with white walls in the paint bay, I would try to use that to my advantage and perhaps plan for a bleach bypass finish look, crushing some of the blacks... a little glow may or may not accentuate the spray of the paint to your tastes.
Also - backlighting is important!!!
Good Luck!
Gary

the color of the car will effect how you light it. If you are using only one car your job will be fairly simple. As stated by many broad fill lighting , soft boxes, may be the way to go . Using a jib will also make your life a little easier getting above with some sweeping shots makes a car look pretty .