Wenn plötzlich alles anders läuft und dein geplanter Drehplan durcheinandergerät, musst du schnell reagieren. Zuerst solltest du klären, welche Aufnahmen unbedingt gemacht werden müssen und welche du vielleicht ändern oder sogar weglassen kannst. Nutze dann die Ressourcen, die dir gerade zur Verfügung stehen – sei es die Location, die Ausrüstung oder dein Team. Und ganz wichtig: Sorge dafür, dass alle Beteiligten genau wissen, was zu tun ist. So vermeidest du Verwirrungen und machst das Beste aus der Situation.

SHOOT FOR THE EDIT. Make sure you go through the shot list and pick out the ESSENTIAL shots to make the story work. Do these first then go back to any other shots if you have time.

Prioritize Essential Shots: Quickly identify the key scenes that drive the story forward. Focus on must-have shots, and let go of less critical ones. Reframe & Repurpose: Use available spaces creatively. For example, if an exterior shoot is delayed, reframe interiors to evoke a similar tone or atmosphere. Collaborate with the Team: Stay flexible by leveraging your crew’s expertise—whether it's lighting adjustments or creative angles, teamwork helps adapt quickly. Stay Calm & Improvise: Embrace the unexpected! View each change as a chance for creative growth—capture fresh moments that you hadn’t planned for.

I was hired to film a branded spot for One Direction a while back. I knew we had a short window to film with the band. I didn't know when they arrived they'd have another camera crew with them trying to direct their own footage. Shoot schedule went out the window immediately and I quickly shifted to focus to film all the content I could with the band, knowing any inserts, cutaways, etc would have to be picked up later. I didn't want to waste any time with the talent trying to grab any other shots. My best advice if you're even in this situation - try to keep your cool and just focus on what you absolutely need in the moment and take hella good notes of what you got and what you missed so you can film pickups/fill in the gaps later.

Remaining calm is essential. Panicking makes it worse. Get your team together, regroup and create a contingency plan based on what has gone wrong. Prioritise the must-have shots that tell the core story, the non-negotiables. Adopt a solution-orientated mindset. What can be done to salvage a scene? Get everyone up to speed with the new plan and use the setbacks to galvanise them to turn the situation around. Note what shots you got and what might need to be picked up on a reshoot then do the best you can under the circumstances. Try to see the situation as an unexpected opportunity, some of the best moments come from improvisation. The setbacks you overcome become valuable lessons for future shoots.