I'VE BEEN AROUND TOO LONG to expect anything from anyone. What I appreciate is that there is trust. I appreciate a director that trusts me. I need a director to trust what I'm going to do--my instinct, my instrument. If a cat hires me, he's got to trust me. Directors will always say, "Trust me! Trust me!" and then cut you out of the movie. Not because they don't like you, but because they had to contend with mistakes, or people on the other end who don't get what you're trying to do. I'm not going to be in the editing room with them. The director is the custodian of the story. I have worked with some people who've done that well and others who haven't. The strongest, my favorites, are Francis Coppola, Abel Ferrara, Lloyd Richards and Michael Apted. With new directors, I broke in John Singleton, Spike Lee, and The Wachowskis. I try to do the best I can. They have to figure it out on their own. You can't sit anybody down and tell him or her how it's done. In the end, the only real teacher is practical experience.