Standing in front of a great work of art at The Louvre, Paris or The Royal Academy, London — it's sometimes hard to know what makes it so special. Many museums now have audio interpretation guides designed to enhance the experience of looking at paintings and artifacts, and their innovative use of interactive multimedia technology often gives the attractions an added dimension. And one of the leading providers of this technology builds its system around FileMaker Pro, the award–winning database software application from FileMaker, Inc.

Business Challenge

Based in the United Kingdom, Antenna Audio evolved from a performing arts group devoted to exploring new ideas in theatrical presentation, to become a company that has pioneered the development of interpretive audio tours for museums and historic sites worldwide.

Today a multi–talented team of performers, writers, sound engineers, technicians, and marketers works together to bring Antenna Audio presentations to over 14 million tour groups every year. 'Antenna Audio provides audio interpretation and tours for the world's greatest art collections and cultural sites,' notes project manager Titus Bicknell. 'With offices in 13 different countries Antenna Audio combines centralized production facilities in London and Sausalito, California with local managers whose close relationships with the museums, galleries and cultural sites ensure the highest quality audio tours.'

Successful Solution

FileMaker Pro is a key component in keeping all these productions organized. 'Project managing a huge number of intricate projects in international venues requires a flexible and robust database system,' observes Titus. 'By combining cross platform access with easy web and client access, FileMaker Pro has occupied an unchallenged position at the center of our organization.'

FileMaker enables the Antenna Audio team to keep track of every element of every production — storing detailed information about each exhibit, along with technical details for the production team. A total of 15 individual FileMaker databases contains more than 50,000 individual records — made available to Antenna Audio staff in the US and UK over the web. The most complex audio production project may be easily coordinated with just a few well–placed clicks.

Project managing a huge number of intricate projects in international venues requires a flexible and robust database system. By combining cross platform access with easy web and client access, FileMaker Pro has occupied an unchallenged position at the center of our organization.

— Titus Bicknell, Project Manager, Antenna Audio, Inc.