The easiest method would be to rent a large, very large can opener and remove the entire roof of the car!
Well as a stills commercial photographer, lighting is lighting correct? I'd probably decide on what time of day I'd want to shoot it, whether I'd want direct sunlight coming in or not, assuming for your purposes you would not want direct sun light, don't think I would either.
Trow up a couple of lights and several reflectors around where you can out of camera view. I assume when the occupants are fiddling with interior gadgets that you will be shooting with the door open (that door closest to the camera), so you should be able to move a light in for this rather easily. Still photography speaking, I'd probably use a small soft box or two for this fiddling with gadgets scene. It sounds like your scenes will be tightly framed scenes?? If so you shouldn't have much difficulty, or is this a roaming camera moving from front seat occupants to the rear seat occupants diddling with gadgets? Key question, as you will need to know, I would think, how much area you need to illuminate. Of course tight scenes (images on my end of the biz) are much easier to light even in a cramped envir like an automobile interior.
I once did a rectangular table of diners at a resturant on a river boat with very low ceilings, six and a half to seven foot high. Now then to have used umbrellas or soft boxes would have put the center of the light right in the same level as their faces practically. I wanted the light to be higher and directing downward...SO I bought a whole roll of rip stop fabric at the fabric store (tip, go with a female companion when you go the fabric store, everyone assumes you must be a sissy if you as a guy are buying fabric-laugh), and I taped the fabric from the ceiling coming downward near the floor, about ten feet of this on each side of the long rectangular table. This allowed me to place my strobe units near the low ceiling pointing downward on the diners and still be diffused lighting. It worked out great. In the large picture window in the background we took a city skyline shot of mine and dropped it in, bingo.
Point is, with enough time to think it out and with gaffers tape and reflectors/diffusion material be surprised what you can get by with in a tight area.
Good luck
Katrina Guy
