Sometimes the director will want you to write about the character, sometimes he'll want you to live in the location that the character is from or something like that, but I don't usually make a lot of notes or anything like that.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I think it's important that a director be able to know his characters inside and out.
If my characters travel somewhere, I generally write about a place I know to give the scenes more authenticity.
Once you have your characters, they tell you what to write, you don't tell them.
You try to get to know your character as best as you can before you start filming - what's written and not written.
I believe that as a writer and a director, you're only providing the skeleton of a character, and you're hiring actors to fill it out.
You can't really write until the characters kind of show up one day and tell you what they're going to say. You start to hear the rhythm of the way the people talk, and then it becomes easier.
It's very rare that you get a director that lets you be creative and bring what you feel your character should do or should be.
My process is kind of intuitive - I think about how a character will speak according to their station and personality, occasionally making notes with guidelines for their mannerisms, and then I just sort of crack on and write it.
It's different being a director. I suppose, especially if it's a story you've written and you feel compelled to tell, in some ways it's a lot easier than acting because you're orchestrating the piece. As an actor, sometimes you're trying to second-guess what people want.
When I sign on for a project, I'm there to give the director all the material he or she might need to tell their story, and that's the number one priority.