10. What if you can't plan?

Not every film you shoot will be scripted - you could be shooting a live sporting event, a concert, a protest rally, or even shooting in a dangerous situation like a war zone or natural disaster.
In those cases, you might not get days before shooting to sit and plan what you’re going to do, but it’s important to realize that even if you don’t know what will happen from beat to beat, you can still make an attempt at planning that will help your content be great. Look at other films in the same genre to develop ideas on how to anticipate your production needs and adjust to changing circumstances on the fly. If you’re shooting in a hospital in an active war zone, what do you do if one wing of the hospital is destroyed by a bomb on the day of your shoot? What about if the power goes out in the sports stadium as you’re trying to shoot the superbowl?

If you are shooting an event like a concert or sporting event, talk to the producers, artists, or other organizers to find out where the action is going to be. Consider using multiple cameras if you can, to get all of the action from more than one angle, allowing you to cut later. Make sure to have a separate audio recording too, so that if one or more devices fails, at least you have some back up. A song that skips because one of your camera batteries failed at the wrong moment isn’t compelling content.

If you’re not able to have that kind of data, you still want to think about the end outcome of your footage - the live rally might be more effective if you’re a part of the march using a steadicam rig. The natural disaster might be better if you leave the camera somewhere and hope to access footage remotely. Remember no matter what, your life is worth more than your equipment, so plan accordingly.
If you don’t have control of 100% of the action, control what you can and worry about the rest later.