Rent a hospital by the hour in Chicago, IL

Now that you've written up your script and have a cast of actors ready to start, you'll need a location for filming. Medical dramas are all the rage and a hospital is the best place to film one. ER and Chicago Med were both filmed in the Windy City, after all. Even so, finding a hospital set is a little more difficult compared to other types of sets. You have two choices for filming in a Chicago hospital: finding a decommissioned hospital or working with an active one. A hospital that has recently been put out of business is easier and more affordable but the downsides are many. You won't find medical equipment, beds, working lights, and other elements that make the scene believable. Active hospitals are one of the best places to shoot a film. You'll have to work with the agency in charge of the hospital. Generally, you start by writing up a proposal and delivering it to them. The proposal should detail your organization, your needs, goal, budget, and other factors. In response, the hospital will ask for more details or give you a yes or no response. You may be limited to a single floor or ward in order to prevent filmmaking from impeding the hospital's operations. Certain technology, people, or patients in the area may be considered off-limits for filming due to legal reasons. And there will likely be financial compensation required for using their space and potential disruptions to the hospital's operation. So long as you're willing to work within those parameters hospitals make excellent film sets.

While filming in a hospital is possible there are also sets in the city that recreate a hospital environment. There are many advantages to filming in a fake hospital set. Rental is going to be far more straightforward since you aren't disrupting an actual hospital's operation. Hourly and daily rentals can be scheduled in mere moments compared to the weeks or months of back and forth negotiation required when working with a true hospital. Hospital sets have realistic operating rooms, technology like heart monitors, beds, and other equipment that immerse viewers in a believable way. Custom sets sometimes include costume rentals as well, including doctor's outfits, patient gowns, nurse caps, and more. The fewer items you have to source on your own the faster your movie production will come together.

In the United States our hospitals are full of the latest modern medical equipment. So viewers expect to see similar technology in a film. Be on the lookout for hospital set equipped with heart monitors, flexing beds, MRI machines, and other tech. That way, your medical drama or documentary will hit all of the right realism notes on screen.