Voice-recording magic Studio’s laid-back approach belies its impressive growth

VIRGINIA BEACH | Don’t tell the children, but Dora the Explorer is right here in Virginia Beach.

At least her voice is.

“Dora,” along with shows such as “Cash Cab” and the A&E; “Biography” series, video games such as “Gears of War” and some popular radio jingles are all clients and products of Studio Center: Total Production, a Virginia Beach voice recording company. Studio Center does a little of everything, from radio spots and voice-overs to commercial postproduction and dubbing.

It has won a Grammy for work on one of George Carlin’s audio books, along with about 4,000 other awards. Studio Center does about 15,000 jobs a year.

It makes for a frenetic pace, but the office is laid-back. Everyone wears jeans and T-shirts. Fresh cookies and a stocked candy dish perch on receptionist Katie Cirilli’s desk. People bring their pets to work. And Chief Executive Officer William “Woody” Prettyman greets his employees with a fist bump.

Still, the production studio has seen at least 50 percent growth every year since Mr. Prettyman bought it in 2004. Despite the economy, Studio Center plans to open a seventh office in Richmond next month with five employees. That will bring Studio Center’s hiring for the year up to 13.

The company also has started helping its A-listers set up home studios as far away as New York’s Long Island, so they can live and work where they want.

Mr. Prettyman’s vision of the future involves words unusual in a recession, such as profitability, expansion and new markets. He said he plans to expand into new markets. And he predicted the company will grow to three times its current size in the next five years.

Though Studio Center’s growth has plunged to 6 percent so far this year, Mr. Prettyman expects a rebound to the double digits by the end of 2009.

When Warren Miller conceived Studio Center in Virginia Beach in 1966, Mr. Prettyman was 3 years old. The company grew to include three offices, then stopped. Mr. Miller liked the size.

When Mr. Prettyman bought it, the former executive at Clear Channel Communications saw other opportunities. He expanded to New York, Los Angeles and even opened a second Virginia Beach studio. Product offerings grew to include script writing, postproduction, acting and dubbing.

Such vertical integration allows the company to produce as much or as little of the product as a client needs, Mr. Prettyman said.

Each year, Studio Center takes on jobs as varied as Starbucks, NASCAR and Hanes clothing commercials. For “Dora the Explorer,” it voices the show’s characters. The voice for some “Dora” toys comes from a local actress.

The advent of digital audio and the Internet allow customers to sit in on auditions from around the world.

Amy Houck, vice president of DIA Inc., a Norfolk advertising firm, has worked with Studio Center for years.

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