i have a story idea for my thesis film that i am very proud of and really am looking forward to shooting as i passionately want to see it come to life. thing is, it's set in a hospital...except for a dream sequence that takes place at a train station. i am in nyc and will be shooting late winter.
i'm wondering if anyone here has ever dealt with shooting a project that was set in a hospital. what did you do? were you able to shoot in a hospital or did you build your own somehow? what sort of red tape did you have to go through if you were able to shoot in an actual hospital? i'd appreaciate any advice or ideas for shooting this. the places within a hospital that my film takes place is in a hospital room, a waiting room area where they have puzzle and junk for people to do while waiting, and a reception desk.

thank you for any advice/info.

It all depends on how much of the "hospital look" you need. You'd have the most control and freedom if you can get it done making a hospital room set in a basement or something.
Never shot in a hospital though, I'd guess it might be a hassle especially if you plan to do it in the ER or something.

I recall someone saying they faked it with a nursing home. But if that don't work for you then just of the best place to fake it. There are dozens of kinds of doctors out their, many with their own private practice and sterile room. Go hit these guys up. It shouldn't take much set design to fake it. Also they'd make good techincal advisors. All that aside, I wish you good luck, I have to shoot a scene where the lead is hooked up to an EKG machine. Luckily it's only one shot so faking the set won't be too hard. Lucky still, I know this biofeedback technician whose equipment will come in handy for a nice prop.

-Elliott

You're going to have a hell of a hard time if you want to shoot in an actual hospital. I work at a giant public hospital in Manhattan and I'm friends with, well basically the boss of the place, and there's no way to shoot there. There are all sorts of restrictions about patient privacy and whatnot so it would be pretty hard for you to do.
Someone said you should try a private practice guy, that would work great if you're friendly with your pediatrician/gp. Ask, worst that can happen is he says no.

thanks for the replies!

i think i'll look into shooting at a nursing home. one of my classmates suggested that to me as well. it probably would be much easier than shooting in a hospital.

i'm real excited about my project...i pitched my story in wrting class today. responses from my instructor and classmates were quite constructive and encouraging...i couldn't wait for class to end so i could write in some of their suggestions that i really liked. i just came off a 6 week battle with writer's block. i feel damn good right now!

I would say hit up the local film commission. NYC has got to be filled with potential hospital locations,a dn they would know which are film friendly.

For a short I did I used a classroom for nursing that had a hospital bed, EKG, ect. We blocked it in one corner of the room, and shot tight. No one ever knew it was'nt a hospital.

For a feature we recently did we shot in an old tuberculosces (sp?) hospital. Portion of it were still operating, but some were closed off and they let us shoot there rather cheap. Sometimes open hosptals will let you as well, especially if your school carries insurance for their students. Hope this helps some.
R. Michael