How to light a small stage from scratch?

[simsurace]

(I thought we have a board called 'Ask an expert', but I was wrong. Anyway, I hope this question fits this subforum, otherwise please feel free to move it.)

I have to shoot an experimental classical concert that will be held in a smallish barn. There is no proper light and maybe not even a power outlet, so the room will be completely dark just by itself and we will have to light it from scratch. We will have to contend with mobile (battery-powered) lights. I don't know whether we can get hold of a power generator.

The first idea was to use some floodlights. There are LED floodlights that are battery-powered and emit 1600lm each. My worry is that placing them on the ground will produce harsh shadows in the wrong places and will somehow destroy the atmosphere of the place.

Another option is to distribute flashlights and have just candles or other lamps for general illumination. The flash will fill in and complement the ambient light. This has the drawback that it disturbs the live experience of the audience. Maybe we could do a photo session beforehand, but for documentation purposes it is required that we also see the audience on at least some of the shots. So far this seems the solution with the most control over where to place the lights.

Long story short: How can I light the room to preserve some of the atmosphere and also have good light on the musicians? Any tips?

The problem is even harder since I don't yet know precisely what the venue looks like, so I just wanted to collect some ideas and thoughts here. Maybe someone here has had to do something similar and already has some experience. Within the next days I should be able to add info about the size and height of the room.

[Erik Lund]

Just go high ISO and fast lenses.

Any additional lights will disturb both the actors, audience and the mood of the images.

[Ethan]

Provided the Barn is reachable by road or dirt road.

You can use Car Lights:
1- One car in front of the entrance.
2- Second car in front of the window. (front of car jacked up)
3- Third car in front of second window or any opening. (front of car jacked up)

Put all lights on high or low beam and for added atmos, just have some orangey/reddish gels covering some car lights.

No candles allowed in Barns unless you want a disaster and flash will ruin the mood.

The musicians to be seated as close to the illuminated barn doors and preferably avoiding black clothes.
Tender a big white bed sheet behind and if possible above the musicians to reflect some of the light.

If the cars cannot get to the Barn. Just rent car batteries and hook up any cheap car lights.

In other words, turn the barn into a giant soft box illuminated with car lights.

Good Luck

[pluton]

You said "completely dark".  Does that mean the concert will be at night?  Can the musicians play in total darkness?
If so, there will have to be illumination.
The best lighting will require mains-type AC power.  Can a small Honda 2 kW generator be rented?
You'd have to deal with the noxious exhaust by running it many meters away and using extension cords.
The nicest light would be strings of multiple low-wattage incandescent light bulbs suspended overhead.  Once you get up to 15 or 20 such lights, the effect becomes one of being a very soft, warm light.
Other schemes and suggestions are available depending on the circumstances.

[simsurace]

Just go high ISO and fast lenses.

Any additional lights will disturb both the actors, audience and the mood of the images.

Yes, if there is sufficient light for that. Fast lenses will certainly be part of the solution. But I also need fairly fast speeds because of the subject motion.
The problem though is that there might not be any light at all to start with (except small lights that the musicians use to read their music scores).

[simsurace]

Provided the Barn is reachable by road or dirt road.

You can use Car Lights:
1- One car in front of the entrance.
2- Second car in front of the window. (front of car jacked up)
3- Third car in front of second window or any opening. (front of car jacked up)

Put all lights on high or low beam and for added atmos, just have some orangey/reddish gels covering some car lights.

No candles allowed in Barns unless you want a disaster and flash will ruin the mood.

The musicians to be seated as close to the illuminated barn doors and preferably avoiding black clothes.
Tender a big white bed sheet behind and if possible above the musicians to reflect some of the light.

If the cars cannot get to the Barn. Just rent car batteries and hook up any cheap car lights.

In other words, turn the barn into a giant soft box illuminated with car lights.

Good Luck

This is a nice idea I had not thought of. I have to check whether this is feasible with the specific barn that will be chosen.

[simsurace]

You said "completely dark".  Does that mean the concert will be at night?  Can the musicians play in total darkness?
If so, there will have to be illumination.
The best lighting will require mains-type AC power.  Can a small Honda 2 kW generator be rented?
You'd have to deal with the noxious exhaust by running it many meters away and using extension cords.
The nicest light would be strings of multiple low-wattage incandescent light bulbs suspended overhead.  Once you get up to 15 or 20 such lights, the effect becomes one of being a very soft, warm light.
Other schemes and suggestions are available depending on the circumstances.

The concert will be at night, yes. The musicians do not play in total darkness, they usually have small LED lights on their stands, but they are insufficient to light anything more than their music scores.
A generator might be required depending on the barn. I think we can rent or borrow one from a local farmer, they usually have them.
A string of lights is an excellent idea. How low should the wattage be in order to be considered "low"? Would 25W be ok?
I guess that non-incandescent bulbs are less desirable because of the spectral composition? What about white LEDs?

[Jakov Minić]

Think more in terms of silhouettes

[simsurace]

Think more in terms of silhouettes

Interesting point. I will think about it.

[MFloyd]

Just go high ISO and fast lenses.

Any additional lights will disturb both the actors, audience and the mood of the images.

I generally avoid additional lights; I have the chance to shoot a D5 where you can go extremely high in ISO while maintaining reasonable noise; what might be disturbing, is that you destroy to a certain extent the atmosphere, as the attached picture was shot at almost night (9.30 pm) and one would think it's daylight, though you could barely see the stage as there was no artificial light foreseen (daylight stage).  Underexpose in PP doesn't work here, because the (natural) light is flat and you darken everything. If you dont have some light which allows the players of the stage to be above the average lighting, you will have quite disappointing results as this picture shot at ISO 65'000:

[gryphon1911]

I'd find out if the musicians want there to be additional lights.  Part of the ambiance might be how it is currently lit.  In which case, the best thing to do would be to use flash.

Most likely this is not going to be a cheap lighting situation.  If they want this thing lit, and lit well, then I would try and get some quite generators and get some hot lights in there.

[Akira]

Simone, you said an experimental "classical" concert, which suggests that the music is not loud, and the ensemble would play without any PA system (electric amplification).  There could be moments of very soft volume.

If so, any use of generators or cars should destroy the music in the first place.

I would think that the totally silent power source (enough amount of charged batteries?) should be the only way.  Such a deserted location should be virtually free of urban or environmental noise.  Even a power generator placed 100m away from the barn could disturb the music.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Continuous lights can be very distracting if bright. I would use what light there is and a fast lens with high ISO and not add lighting. If the musicians can be seen by naked eye, they can be photographed as well.

[simsurace]

I'd find out if the musicians want there to be additional lights.  Part of the ambiance might be how it is currently lit.  In which case, the best thing to do would be to use flash.

Most likely this is not going to be a cheap lighting situation.  If they want this thing lit, and lit well, then I would try and get some quite generators and get some hot lights in there.

The musicians don't want to think about light, but they want a nice atmosphere and good shots for documentation purposes, so I took charge of the lighting.

There isn't a huge amount of money to spend, so I guess that something along the lines of a string of light bulbs is currently the best option. It looks as if all candidate rooms so far have a power outlet.

[pluton]

The concert will be at night, yes. The musicians do not play in total darkness, they usually have small LED lights on their stands, but they are insufficient to light anything more than their music scores.
A generator might be required depending on the barn. I think we can rent or borrow one from a local farmer, they usually have them.
A string of lights is an excellent idea. How low should the wattage be in order to be considered "low"? Would 25W be ok?
I guess that non-incandescent bulbs are less desirable because of the spectral composition? What about white LEDs?

Conventional incandescent:  15w bulbs would be fine.  Maybe too much, if you want to keep the night feeling.
Another thought occurred to me:  Why not use the strings of LED lights that are so cheap now.  The kind used for Christmas decorations. Best if they are the "tungsten" or "warm white" types.  They are so efficient, a sufficiently long string(s) of them could be powered by one automobile-sized battery for many hours, through a relatively inexpensive inverter(s).  Dead silent, light weight, easy to rig(depending on the location).
Added idea: If rigging above is impossible, they could be laid on the floor(easy), or hung from stands in bunches.
Two light sources, one at either side, or one each at front and behind the players could be sufficient.
EDIT:  If mains AC power is available, so much the better.