Celebrating Keelan Carothers: From Studio Assistant to HBO Gaffer

There's something special about watching a friend achieve their dreams. I've been there for the journey, and I couldn't be prouder of Keelan Carothers. He has just landed one of the most coveted positions in television lighting: Gaffer for HBO's medical drama, "THE PITT." At such a young age, he has become one of the youngest gaffers to helm a major network show.

The Warner Bros. Lot: A Dream Realized

Walking onto the Warner Bros. lot with Keelan felt surreal. Here’s someone I’ve known for years, now commanding one of the most technically complex sets on television. "THE PITT" isn't just any show; it's a medical drama that films sequentially. Each episode represents one hour of a single day in a hospital emergency room.

"JoJo called me with this opportunity," Keelan explains, referring to the show's Director of Photography. "She said, 'I know you're shooting more these days, but I just got this big opportunity. There’s no one I would rather have than you.' I didn't even hesitate – 100%. It’s an opportunity I couldn’t turn down."

During our set visit, Johanna Coelho briefly stopped by to check on a few things. Watching her and Keelan interact, you could see the mutual respect and collaborative spirit that makes their partnership thrive.

Team Culture and Collaboration

During our visit, I was struck not just by the technical innovation, but by the unique culture that show creator John Wells has fostered on set. Everyone on the production wears scrubs, which creates a unified team atmosphere. This mirrors the collaborative spirit of a real hospital. The attention to detail goes beyond just visual authenticity; it fosters a sense of shared purpose among the crew.

Engineering Lighting Perfection

Keelan's work on "THE PITT" is extraordinary. He has achieved an unprecedented scope of control on set. The production uses a 360-degree hospital environment where cameras can shoot from any angle. Unlike typical TV productions, where lights just hang from above without ceiling constraints, "THE PITT" has an actual ceiling structure. This presents unique challenges for the lighting crew.

Keelan and his crew installed nearly a mile of LED ribbon lights throughout the set. He controls every light source, from major lighting rigs to the lights in vending machines. The LED ribbons can adjust from 2600K to 6500K. Everything is controllable via iPad-like devices through a custom network. Even monitors displaying heart rate data and medical readouts can be controlled, ensuring they show medically accurate information that actors can reference.

Sequential Storytelling Through Light

This unique filming approach requires sophisticated programming of different lighting looks for various times of day. Brian Wallace, the Lighting Console Programmer, has been with the show for the entire season. "7 to 9 a.m. look, a 10 a.m. look, 1 p.m., and 2 p.m.," Keelan describes the programming that creates the illusion of time passing throughout their nine-month production schedule of 15 episodes.

Brian has played a crucial role in making the show's ambitious lighting design work, operating the lighting console throughout the nine-month project. His expertise enables Keelan's vision to come to life, allowing for precise control over the lighting environment.

Custom Solutions for Complex Challenges

When budget constraints limited the use of newer fixtures, Keelan had to think creatively. "It was way cheaper to buy all this ribbon and just rent the controllers," he explains. The team designed custom magnetic diffusion attachments for every light fixture. Key Grip Max Thorpe and 1st Unit Grip Dan Preiser created these attachments, making quick adjustments during filming possible.

The team even outfitted an ambulance with the same LED ribbon system to maintain lighting continuity between interior hospital scenes and exterior emergency vehicle shots. Cole, who specializes in LED installation, has been working on integrating the ribbon lights throughout the ambulance. "We're trying to figure out how to tap into all these systems," Cole says. "I think we’ve got it figured out."

This ambulance integration represents one of the most technically challenging aspects of production. It requires Cole's expertise to ensure the lighting system works seamlessly with the vehicle's existing electrical systems.

The Art of Invisible Lighting

Every light on set is controllable down to the vending machine and medical refrigerator. Keelan's obsession with perfection shows in details that others might overlook. He prefers circular eye lights over rectangular ones. "I just don't love a square or rectangle in the actor's eyes," he explains. His team includes crew members dressed as nurses who follow cameras with battery-powered circular eye lights, maintaining perfect lighting during complex tracking shots.

The set features primarily 2x2 parabolic troffers, along with some 2x4s and 1x4s to form a cohesive lighting ecosystem. "I have guys dressed in scrubs at all times, so they look like a nurse. They’ll hide around a corner, and as the camera passes them, they follow."

Beyond the Studio

The scope of production extends beyond the main hospital set. The team shoots at St. Joe's, a real hospital near the lot for exterior shots. Matching lighting between practical locations and the studio is critical. The show's surgical scenes feature enormous surgical lights, an impressive feat achieved through significant engineering. "There’s an enormous amount of trust that goes into it," Keelan says. "It’s structural, and it was a huge engineering project to get this thing in here because it’s really, really heavy and moves around."

A Friend's Pride

Watching Keelan command this operation fills me with immense pride. "Basically the entire set is custom," he reflects. "A lot of times, the fixtures on a show would be standard production lights. It’s a huge job, and you're building a lot of things. But on this set, about 99% of the lights are custom builds."

As "THE PITT" gears up for season two, Keelan continues to push boundaries. His "gold room" – the fixtures room where his team modifies practical fixtures with LED ribbon lights – showcases the innovation that is becoming his trademark.

The images on the right show one of the last times Keelan worked for me in 2012 while filming the NBA Finals. The Oklahoma Thunder faced off against LeBron James' Miami Heat. We captured LeBron winning his first championship. The other picture shows Keelan on set gaffing for "THE PITT."

Keelan's journey—from someone who once worked out of my studio to commanding one of television's most technically sophisticated productions—exemplifies what happens when talent meets opportunity. From studio roommate to HBO Gaffer, sometimes the best journeys are the ones you get to witness firsthand.