I have been recording poetry readings using a couple of Lowel Omni lights (about 20' away, with a diffusion sheet) at about a 30° degree angle from either side.
This is the result: Jennifer Natalya Fink | 2011-2012 Lannan Readings and Talks Series on Vimeo
The chair of the department has asked that I no longer use the lights because they take away from the intimacy of the readings in the room.
There is no place to hang lights, the room itself has very dim overall lighting and my camera
(JVC GY- HM100) really does not do that well in low light situations.
Does anyone have a suggestion as to how I can light this situation? I was considering getting a couple of floor lamps that could flank the reader, but in the event that we have a tall poet, the 6' lamps that I have found, would end up lighting the face from below and give the reader a "demonic" look.
Any thought on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thaks

You could use Fresnel lights, so that they light the reader in a more "theatrical" fashion. They can be rigged far back, but can be barndoored off so they won't light the entire room. You can use a separate light for the background or let it drop off into darkness. However, you have to be more precise how you set a hard light, but well done it can look great. It'll look good to the audience as well.