Video Village Priorities: Micro-Budget Short - What's Essential?

Hey everyone,

I'm a Location Manager, and I’m gearing up to direct my first micro-budget short film. I've been doing a ton of research, and while there's great advice out there on scaling productions, most of it assumes a certain level of funding for essentials like a full video village.

My reality is a bit different. We're talking super lean, I can probably only swing one or two truly 'key' items for monitoring on set outside of the camera itself. I'm trying to figure out where that money is best spent. Is it a decent monitor for the director/D.P.? A wireless TX/RX for the director to see a feed? Or something else entirely that I'm not even considering?

I've shot smaller things before where everyone just crowds around the camera, but I want to be a bit more efficient this time. For those of you who've been in this position, what was your absolute top priority and why?