which interface do I need to work with film music?

[Rubens]

Hi MOTUNATION,

I am trying to work for film industry, (at least this is the plan!), and I wonder which kind of specifics hardware do I need in order to achieve a professional result in terms of mix and master...
I believe I will work mostly with virtual instruments no? Recording time to time a real guitar or some solo string, percussion... Then which is the appropriate interface? Do I need manny outputs or everything on the mix will go through the main 1-2 output? Sorry, to be very ignorant about those things...
I do have an old Ultralite. Do I need to change?

Thank you,

Rubens.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Take a course in music production or do some research. Your question is too broad to be answered definitively. In short, get the best stuff you can afford..

[stubbsonic]

I'd add that while you can try to get an interface that DOES EVERYTHING, it might be better to think about getting a decent outboard (analog) mixer, as you will like having decent mic pre-amps and most interfaces have only 'decen't mic pres.

But a short answer to your question is that you don't need to put the cart before the horse.

You can incrementally build up.

Get a decent microphone (if you don't have one). That is very useful.

Work on your recording room. If it is a very small space, try to do things to make the room sound better. Book shelves are pretty helpful to a room sound, or you can hang things that help absorb reflections. You can find tips for treating rooms on the cheap.

Get decent cans (headphones) and good monitor speakers if you don't have them.

Of course, continue to work on your craft. You can make some demos, or take any existing work you have and dial it in so it represents your skill level well. Making connections is the hard part, but very important. Others can advise you on that better than I.

[Rubens]

It seems my text was confusing, sorry.
I am only asking if the interface is all right or not. I can see that MIDI Life Crisis uses a motu 16 track for example. I wonder then if my old Ultralite is enough for this job.
I do have good mics, headphones, monitors, etc. I am only concerned about the interface itself. Thank you.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Your interface is almost irrelevant if you're using VIs. You'll be bouncing to disk if you're using VIs. I could do my work with built in ports on the Mac. I have several audio interfaces and the T16 is the best. I actually won that in a raffle at a MOTU event. Had I not, I'd use a Focusrite Pro 24 DSP or another unit.

What a good interface can do it give you accurate output or better live recordings or a good clock (timing) or features to analyze your output, but that's not so much a "film" thing but a quality thing in general. It's really about what your own standards are and, of course, what you can afford.

[mikehalloran]

I do very little of that anymore -- I can no longer work quickly. As MLC states, if working with VIs or, in my case, tracks often recorded somewhere else, the interface not only doesn't matter but you may not need one.

Mine, an 828mkII is only used when I am tracking. I do a little with piano and voice but it's rare. I've not used my outboard MIDI modules in 10 years. Otherwise, my monitors are hooked up to my Mac via an optical interface and monitor switch that lets me chose between 2.1 / 5.1 and I do it all "in the box".

Is your Ultralite adequate? We can't answer that for you. If there's a limiting factor, you'll find that soon enough. When you hit whatever limits, it will be time to research available products to determine what's best for you.

Do you need 5.1 capability? If you plan to do film, yes. Some projects require 7.1 nowadays.

[Rubens]

Thank you guys,

it is what I was looking for, as an understanding of how things work. Thank you again.