Why You Should Not Believe Hospitals On Screen
January 8, 2010
Nobody really thinks much about the way hospital lighting is used, yet it may have a subtle importance. Garish, incredibly bright lights bring out the worst in peoples features, so it’s no surprise that filmmakers and television producers light their shows in ways that are not identical to a real hospital setting. While cloud light panels could improve the look of your average hospital, it’s unlikely they’ll ever be as well lit as what you see in a Hollywood set.
The reasons hospitals light each room in such a way are obvious enough. In a place where details can make the difference between living and dying, and doctors and nurses need to see every aspect of the peoples bodies they are operating on or examining, having the least amount of shadows possible is of paramount importance.
But these hospitals aren’t really concerned with how their patients and staff will appear. It’s quite the opposite in the land of film and television without doubt, and this is why the lighting in the fake hospitals of these worlds is so different.
Lighting isn’t just a matter of turning on the lights when it comes to movie making. In a Hollywood film, dozens of people can be employed, all with the job of lighting the actors, actresses, settings and props in the manner the creator wants. Henry Fonda was once shooting a scene when he asked the director for his “doo-hickey”, this “doo-hickey” was in reality a tiny light that aimed into Fonda’s face, giving his eyes a wet, wistful look that was his trademark. Lighting tricks like this are the reason Hollywood stars are able to appear so iconic and attractive. It’s very rare that we stop to consider these differences, due to the pervasive nature of mainstream Hollywood films. Only when we directly compare the films of Hollywood with documentaries about actual hospitals could we start to notice the major differences.
If you think the sets in TV shows such as House are realistic, compare the way they look to your average actual hospital. Even ER, a show that was often praised for its gritty realism, was clearly lit in such a manner that no self-respecting real doctor would let themselves work in such a place. But the makers of television drama require this kind of lighting for the reason real hospitals couldn’t allow it: the increase in the amount of shadow. While shadow in a real situation could mean causing injury or losing the patient, on a film set it means more handsome leading men, and sultrier leading ladies.
It’s really no surprise that Hollywood tends to cheat to make their performers look better than they do in reality. But when you start to think about the way actual situations are portrayed onscreen, it causes us to ask a deeper question: If Hollywood is willing to make alterations to the lights and appearance of characters from real life, what changes are they creating to the way the people behave, and manner in which they interact? In short: Don’t ever look to Hollywood film for an insight into real life.
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