Medical Shows: the Deadly Stethoscope

[Jan McL]

A periodic bane, the stethoscope.

Can't use Sticky Stuff, stains the wardrobe.

Had some success with Topstick on the round piece. Doesn't stick quite so well to the EMT wardrobe.

Thinking of a single baste stitch to the pipe.

Any other ideas?

Jan

[BVS]

Tried a magnet under the wardrobe? And if the stethoscope is not magnetic..add a small round magnet to the round piece with sticky stuff so that none of it touches the costume. It'll now sit there no matter what they do.

BVS

[Kevin Sorensen]

Gorrilla Glue!  Just kidding. So does the stethoscope rub or bounce near a lavaliere mounted on an actor?

On a TV show called "Srubbs" they use to mount a COS11 in/on the stethoscope itself. Basically had it

hidden in plane sight. Right around the Y or yoke area of said prop.

Kevin

[Jan McL]

Thanks, BVS/Kevin,

Two more ideas than I had before!

The problem is most apparent when EMT's are bent over, wheeling a gurney, or on the women particularly, when they walk fast. The stethoscope bounces and may be heard over lavs placed between the breasts on the chest, or B-6 poked through a buttonhole of the costume.

So, to mount ON the stethoscope, one would run the cable up the actor's back and out the collar and down to the stethoscope "tube". Still doesn't cure the stethoscope's bouncing, and that, ultimately, is the issue as far as I can see.

I'm gonna try both ideas first chance I get.

Made my day.

Jan

[Marc Wielage]

Hmmm, if the stethoscope is bouncing, maybe there's a way to anchor it firmly to the actor's coat, even if it means gluing it or tying it down with thread. This sounds like a job for props and wardrobe to help out.

--Marc W.

[Jan McL]

You're quite right, Marc. Props and wardrobe on this show are thankfully spectacularly sound friendly. They've generously held my hand through the Sticky Stuff and Topstick experiments, and I'm sure they will be there for us with any further tests.

Topstick on the round, flat listening part worked OK, but I don't trust that it does the job 100%. Maybe carpet tape (a bit more thickness) would be a better trick. Check.

Have some small, high-strength magnets on hand. Now look for some small bits of steel. Potential issue with this approach are that the stethoscope's listening device falls on a body part best left alone, especially adding bulk just there for the women. Don't see it as much of a problem for the men since their wardrobe is not designed to be as tight fitting.

[Kevin Sorensen]

Here's another thought.  Use a Sanken COS-11 in an RM-11 or transpor tape and place the mic mid way between the

'V' of the costume and the collar. Or closer to the collar ( get it up out of the bra ).  A folded piece of topstick, double face sticks the RM-11 to the material.

Then I would try topsticking a flat piece of makeup foam to the back of the flat round listening part. That might dull or deaden the

thumping sound.

You could also try splitting a black Hushlav an stick that to various sections of the stethoscope.

Kevin

[BVS]

Hi Jan,

Get some fridge (refridgerator) magnets and whip the little round suckers off them..

Now gaffer tape the inside magnet to the back of the costume so the magnet is hard against it...

With a magnet stuck to the round of the stethoscope so as to meet up with the one underneath, you can then have the actor pull the scope if they need to do a heart check without the whole thing be solidly stuck there.

BVS

[RPSharman]

Magnets seem like a great idea.

I did a fair amount of work on "Scrubs" several years ago as a utility person, and as previously mentioned there were some steths permanently wired.  Movement was an issue, and topstick was typically the solution.  Slapping ID badges and any number of other things caused problems too.  Lots of walk and talks with low ceilings and doorways on that show, so lots of wire work.

Lots of good places to hide wires in medical shows, but the props do make noise.

Robert

[BVS]

I did some filming in a real life situation last week in an operating theatre....wired up the student doctor with my favorite rig

http://www.jwsound.net/SMF/index.php?topic=1679.0

and had it placed just to the side of the V in the neck top...worked fine as expected...then she got into her sterile scrubs outfit while we filmed it...which I couldn't touch....fortunately she didn't move too much so got some great close up dialog between her as the assistant and the surgeon...DPA 4071 with bass cut on the 302 because they were wearing masks and it tilted the dialog curve to be more intelligible. She was at his side throughout the operation, so the DPA had them both...

BVS

[Guest Ken Mantlo]

Hi Jan,

Get some fridge (refridgerator) magnets and whip the little round suckers off them..

Now gaffer tape the inside magnet to the back of the costume so the magnet is hard against it...

With a magnet stuck to the round of the stethoscope so as to meet up with the one underneath, you can then have the actor pull the scope if they need to do a heart check without the whole thing be solidly stuck there.

BVS

We are not worthy to be in your presence!!!  Brilliant!

[bigmaho]

Love the magnets idea!!!!  Speaking of 'Scrubs', while working on a medical show (hi Jan!) I was always troubled by all the power doors.  The producers spent a mint on them and wanted them all used often.  So of course there's a 2 page quiet dialog scene next to one of these beasts and a thousand extras constantly walking through the auto sliding doors.  Never could solve it to my satisfaction (though crying like a baby in front of the AD's would get them to limit the walk throughs somewhat).

One night I was flipping through the channels and came across 'Scrubs'.  It was a big hallway scene, so I thought to my self, 'How do they deal with all the doors'.  I got a big laugh when I realized that all the doors were open all the time.  I saw a few episodes.  It was always the same, every door, hallway, patient room, nursing station, er room, etc, were all open.  Smart!

Billy Sarokin

[bigmaho]

btw, did try stitching the stethoscope to the wardrobe, but it just looked too stupid when the EMT leaned forward and the damn thing defied gravity and stayed stuck to his chest.  More often than not we either put a plant on the gurney or just boomed the guy.  He always yelling anyway!

Billy

[RPSharman]

btw, did try stitching the stethoscope to the wardrobe, but it just looked too stupid when the EMT leaned forward and the damn thing defied gravity and stayed stuck to his chest.  More often than not we either put a plant on the gurney or just boomed the guy.  He always yelling anyway!

Billy

I have put a lav on many a "dead body" or patient in order to record the moments when people are leaning over the body.  It's always a good laugh to tell the ADs we need to wire the body.  They often say, "But he's dead."  When told why, they usually have the "smart idea" grin.

Robert

[Derek H]

Hey BVS,

I just completed a pilot for a reality series on trauma units.. did the same thing as you with regards to the V-neck of the scrubs..  except I use cos-11s and actually just poke the head of the 11 out in the air a few mm's.  I have a beige colored 11 that would blend in pretty well.  Cameraman said it was pretty insignificant.

I hear ya regarding the surgery sterile gown.. the ones I encountered were a heavy paper material like heavy-duty paper towel.  My solution was to run the mic up in their tissue cap hats and poke it down right by the temple.  Worked like a charm through gown changing, mask adorning and everything.

-d

[bigmaho]

A third option.  Some MDs put the business end of the stethoscope in their shirt pocket to keep it from flapping around (obviously, we are not the only professionals bothered by that).  So stick it in the pocket, stitch it down and smile!

[BVS]

Thanks Derek....yes that would be the best place but we got what we needed. I did see one of our medical students fold the round of the stethoscope into the base of the ear piece junction...but it didn't look natural...none wear them like that.

[Jan McL]

Business end --> shirt pocket. Yes! (Hi, Billy

Taking away the idea of planting one on the injured gurney-ridden, non-speaking patient for the bent-over, stethoscope-bobbing EMT, Robert/Billy.

Gotta say re: the automatic doors that yes, the crying worked, especially after I fell to my knees and began to beat the floor with my fists. Truth is, the AD's were fabulous about keeping the timing of the through-the-door walkers away from the words, and set dressers turned the door engines off whenever possible.

My other goals for Season 3 (gods willing) is to get the grips to weigh down the bellies that rumble every time the doors are opened, and investing in cotton scrubs for the supporting cast. [insert budget prayer here...]

Thanks to everyone for your fabulous and creative solutions.

[Guest Ken Mantlo]

That's one thing that bugged me about medical shows, they think that you can't be a doctor/nurse/intern unless you have a stethoscope hanging around your neck.  In real life that doesn't happen and a lot of them carry them folded in their side pockets of their lab coats.