Lighting a Scene with multiple people?

[Aaron Star]

Everyone has a different way of doing things. I prefer large soft sources.

I would move the couch out away from the wall a bit more.

Possibly change the blocking and have 7 sit leaning up against the coffee table as the odd man out. Maybe change the coffee table. Have 7 give lines as need to the TV or turn around.

I prefer to have my coverage with people taking at each other, instead of looking sideways on camera. So I would move the cameras around to get some OTS shots, possibly with shoulders on both sides of the frame. This style of shooting allows for backlighting of all subjects, and less direct lighting. Obviously some characters would need to give lines sideways to camera if you keep the original placements. Without knowing the lines its hard to say how the coverage would really work.

One wider shot OTS of the TV, or TV back in the foreground would allow for a nice establishing shot. characters 1-3 could also give their lines from this angle if they are not as important. Then a reverse OTS of some angle such that it includes the image on the TV, if we need to see it.

I do not recall seeing whether the scene is Day or Night Interior.

If Day interior. I sort of like the light that is coming from the window. Put a 6 or 12K outside that window, and use the light curtain fabric to soften it up. Add a cookaloris of some design to break up the window, if you do not like the blown out window source. Then use some 6×6 or 8×8 Grifs to bounce back for fill. Even a couple large china balls could be used at various distances to control the fill. Use cutters/floppys to control the flare and foreground subjects. Floppys also to create negative fill for the #1-3 angle. Floppy can also be used for the #1-3 angle to darken the background, so they have more of a side light with negative fill on the other.

Moving the couch out will give a better backlight and provide a better background.

Someone smoking might be interesting too on the right camera angles, possibly #7 or 5.