Most of the time people use too much light with dv camera. With that, the camera will shoot at f5.6 - f13 and you get nearly zero DOF, especially if shooting wide angle. Your goal is to shoot at manual f2.4 - 1.8 to open up the lens.
Try this, put your subject 1/3 the distance from the background and the camera 2/3 from the subject - the further back the camera the better. The more you zoom in to frame up the more DOF you'll achieve.
Now turn on your lights. If things are over-exposed you need to reduce the light for proper exposure. You do this with dimmers (although than will change color temp), by using ND gel or scrims/screens. You can use the ND on your camera or external lens filters to cut the light as well. Another thing I'll do to "open up" is set your low gain to -3db.
It's a challenge (but certainly not impossible) to get the perfect framing, get the desired DOF and get the artistic lighting with a camera without prime lenses. Practice, practice, practice.
Steve
