Hospital Location
- Thread starter newman67
- Start date
Gonna be virtually impossible to get one free (I know, I tried). The state film commission in your state can point you to closed down hospitals, but you'll have to pay to film there, have insurance, pay a security guard (likely required by the owner), and get a ginny truck because there won't be any power. If you find someplace CHEAP, I mean the owner really cuts you a deal, figure $1000 a day.
The other alternative is as Indie mentioned, a vet office, dentist office, etc... where you know someone who works there, or can otherwise get a deal to shoot off hours.
The best option (and what I did) is an industrial type building that you can dress to look like a hospital, still probably $200 a day or so.
The other alternative is as Indie mentioned, a vet office, dentist office, etc... where you know someone who works there, or can otherwise get a deal to shoot off hours.
The best option (and what I did) is an industrial type building that you can dress to look like a hospital, still probably $200 a day or so.
I can tell you what we did for our production. One of the actresses happened to have a mother who worked at the hospital. Guess what? She pulled some strings and we were able to shoot there. It was an after noon and we had little gear but we made it happen and we even got some nurses to act in the scenes for us. What does this mean to you?
Well, you can just accept that it is going to cost you and pay or you can take indietalk's advice and continually search for one. Pull in favors of people maybe look for actors/actresses that have connections to a hospital. I am not saying sacrifice anything here but it isn't impossible to grab a hospital location. With dedication and a little bit of luck you can score yourself a sweet place to shoot. Good luck let us know what happens.
Well, you can just accept that it is going to cost you and pay or you can take indietalk's advice and continually search for one. Pull in favors of people maybe look for actors/actresses that have connections to a hospital. I am not saying sacrifice anything here but it isn't impossible to grab a hospital location. With dedication and a little bit of luck you can score yourself a sweet place to shoot. Good luck let us know what happens.
I would have loved a real hospital, but the best deal I could find was $500 a day, plus insurance, plus, $25 an hour for a security guard, plus no power at a closed down one. An open one would have been out of the question with a cast and crew of about 30. I wound up paying $300 a day with no insurance required to shoot in an old auto plant that had been turned into art studios.
The LA County Coronor's Office has a film-liason guy, that you might try calling. (Don't have his info handy).
It's fairly cheap to shoot there after-hours. They probably require production insurance - but can't hurt to try.
It's freaky as hell shooting in a working morgue, while real dead bodies are being dropped off all night - getting stacked up in the corridor next to your gear.
It's fairly cheap to shoot there after-hours. They probably require production insurance - but can't hurt to try.
It's freaky as hell shooting in a working morgue, while real dead bodies are being dropped off all night - getting stacked up in the corridor next to your gear.
How much hospital equipment will be necessary for your shoot? If you don't need MRI machines, surgical theaters and a sea of gurneys and such, you could fake a hospital pretty easily by finding any other building with white tiled floors in the hallways and a few small rooms. Then look on Craig's List for used hospital beds. You won't find new looking beds this way, but you can probably find older ones used in senior citizen's homes. Beds are probably essential, but you might be able to fake your way through everything else. I faked an older-looking hospital pretty convincingly for a short Christmas movie using the small Catholic school where my sister teaches...the walls were white, the floor tiles white, the door frames wooden but industrial. Two adjustable hospital beds from a local consignment shop in a small office with clipboards over the footboards, cast made up in the proper uniforms, large shower curtains rigged up in between the beds, etc. Follow the footsteps of the doctors down the hall with a title card indicating "ST. MARY'S HOSPITAL" and into the room for the scene.
Seems like somebody else asked this same question not too long ago. Another option, which is what I did for one of my projects, is to look for a college with a nursing program. Usually there will be a lab with all of the beds, equipment, etc. that can easily stand in for a hospital room.
If you need hallways, operating rooms, or that kind of thing then you'll likely need to arrange for the real McCoy.
If you need hallways, operating rooms, or that kind of thing then you'll likely need to arrange for the real McCoy.
Depending on exactly what you need I have some ideas.
But I don't know of any hospital locations that you can
shoot in for free.