Visual Manifesto on Low-Budget: When does it cross into Counterproductive?

Hey DPs and G&E fam,

I'm Rohan Kapoor, a cinematographer, and I've been wrestling with a conceptual question. On higher-end projects, a super detailed visual manifesto or lookbook seems absolutely crucial. It guides everything from our ALEXA 35 settings to where we place a SkyPanel X. We're talking mood boards, granular discussions on every single shot's emotional arc, and precise color palettes. It's a foundational planning tool.

But what about when you're on a fast-turnaround, lower-budget project? Let's say we're shooting with a C70, maybe a single LS 600d Pro, and time is super tight. We still need a vision, of course, and I've tried to adapt by having a 'lite' version of the manifesto, focusing on broad strokes for tone and key moments. However, sometimes it feels like even that takes up valuable pre-production time that could be spent on location scouting or casting that extra PA.

So, my real question is: On a fast-paced, lower-budget production, when does this rigorous 'Visual Manifesto' process become counterproductive or impractical?