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Liberman/Patton Agency
Agency Relies on FileMaker to Book Top Hollywood Talent
In 1998, faced with increasing demand both from studios and
aspiring actors, agency co-owner Marc Hirschfeld decided that it
was time to invest in a database. They were negotiating deals and
generating innumerable memos, lists, and contracts by hand,
sometimes with the help of a word processor. The new FileMaker Pro
system, built by Scott Rose, president of Scott's Software
Solutions, automates the agency's entire casting process.
Some 10 people access the system, entering and manipulating actor
data to generate 12 different types of contracts required by the
Screen Actors Guild or American Federation of Television and Radio
Artists. A list of actors and their social security numbers is then
automatically faxed to the various unions that must clear the
actors so they can begin work. Meanwhile, staff also inputs the
actor's characteristics into the system -- this can include
anything from age and ethnicity to height, celebrity resemblance,
or special skills. The database also tracks all actors' previous
bookings, meaning that they can review actors' entire employment
history with the agency while negotiating new contracts.
The FileMaker Pro system has eased the agency's workload
immeasurably. No longer must they leaf through hundreds of pages of
biographies and notes to find the right person. They can search the
database of actors using keywords, and the FileMaker Pro system
generates a report of all actors that match those requirements. The
agency subscribes to an online service that stores their actor
photographs, but Rose left the system open for photos if they wish
to add them in the future. 'Since it's FileMaker,' explains Rose,
'this'll be a snap to do.'
The primary reason Hirschfeld chose FileMaker was because of its
simplicity. 'We're not really technologically tuned in,' he
explains. 'With this system, everything's clearly laid out in front
of you.' Hirschfeld also appreciates the system's
speed-to-deployment and low pricetag. Whereas others in his
industry have spent upwards of $100,000 and waited nearly a year
for similar solutions, Hirschfeld's system was a fraction of the
cost and took Rose only some 90 days to complete. 'Now that it's
done,' Hirschfeld adds, 'we can't believe we ever lived without
it.'
Contact information
Contact Info for Customer:Marc Hirschfeld
Co-Owner,
Liberman/Patton Agency
323-525-1381
Scott Rose
President
Scott's Software Solutions
323/954-1978
scott@scottworld.com
Filemaker Contact:
Kevin Mallon
Public Relations Manager
FileMaker Inc.
408-987-7227
kevin_mallon@filemaker.com
http://www.filemaker.com
- It's up to Liberman/Patton Agency, the largest independent casting company in the country, to find the right actor for the right show, including shows such as Seinfeld and Third Rock from the Sun. To simplify the casting process, every actor that comes through the doors at Liberman/Patton is logged, tracked, and screened for future roles using FileMaker Pro.
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