Creative Freedom vs. Budget Constraints: First Draft Impact?

Hey everyone,

I'm Marcus Johnson, director/writer here. I've been wrestling with a script lately (a character-driven drama) and trying to be smarter about the realities of production from the jump. Specifically, I'm thinking about how much I should be factoring in budget constraints, like minimizing locations, right from the very first draft.

My usual process is to just let the story flow, then figure out the logistics later. But I'm finding myself wondering if that's inefficient. For this current project, I've consciously tried to limit the settings to just a couple of core places, but it feels like it's boxing me in creatively, or even making the story less dynamic. On the other hand, the idea of rewriting a huge chunk of a story to consolidate locations after a producer flags it is daunting.

So, for those of you who balance writing and production realities: how much does a writer's understanding of budget, like minimizing locations, genuinely impact your creative choices from that very first draft?