Location Scouting

Since I wanted to create the most realistic setting possible to embrace the drama genre conventions, I decided that instead of attempting to recreate a hospital room completely, my best option would be to gain permission to film in a real one. An integral part of my opening is the realization that the protagonist is actually comatose, so I dedicated a lot of time to finding the ideal hospital room setting.

The closest hospital/clinic nearby is the Cleveland Clinic, but as I expected, I couldn’t find any information online about a way to film in these facilities without renting them for outrageous amounts of money that ultimately, my minuscule bank account does not possess. But then I found my savior: my sister whom luckily goes to medical school half an hour away.

At her school they have “fake hospital rooms” as she quoted, pictured below:

Closer look at the bed my protagonist would be on.

Although these rooms more closely resemble a doctor's office than a hospital room, I could probably manipulate the bed area by adding some more white sheets, and by inserting sound effects such as a beeping heart rate monitor to fully emulate the real deal. Additionally, this scene would include one or two doctors professionally dressed in white lab coats, so I would use these mise-en-scene elements to my advantage to continue to add to the believability and realism of my opening.