Some will spend more money on the film stock in order to do a lot of coverage, others will do everything in one take and with two-shots. Figure out what kind of style your film needs and plan it out based on that. On my film we shot every single day for three weeks and it was the most draining experience of my life. As I said before, you must be insane. Also it's a good idea to get married or find a companion of some sort who believes in your project as much as you do.
Film is a collaborative medium, on and off the set.
If you're serious, your project is going to take up several years of your life. Cool new movie. But to the filmmaker, it is not a new movie. It is, in fact, a very old movie. It is a movie he has been working on for three years.