Looking at the directing techniques, use of floor plans, storyboards, and pre-production techniques by famous directors. The more prepared you are, the freer you are.
In the film "Saboteur" Hitchcock used the suspense of having the hero hanging on to the villain "by a thread" on the Statue of Liberty. This shows how effectively Hitchcock used locations as well as editing. Hitchcock used to draw rough sketches and then have storyboard artists draw them in more detail. He would rarely modify shots while on set.