Joe Van Riper

Voice Description

Deep, powerful voice of authority... commanding! The US Army used my voice to deliver briefings to commanding officers. NFL Films used me to introduce Super Bowl XXL's world broadcast feed. NASCAR uses my voice to promote many of it's top events.

Gentle, sensitive storyteller... A&E Network used me to narrate nearly 70 episodes of "America's Castles". It is my voice you hear when you tour the Billy Graham Museum.

Compelling, professional commercial deliveries from soft to hard sell with clients like Garmin GPS, Caterpillar, and Behringer wines, to name a few.

Informed, competent, and entertaining delivery of expert non-broadcast narrations and documentaries for clients such as BMW, AT&T, Eurail, Westinghouse, Sonoco Products, and thousands more.

My range is broad, and I take direction very well.

Voice Genders and "Ages" I Can Perform

• Middle Age Male
• Senior Male

Language(s) of Which I Am a Native Speaker:

• English - North American

I Offer my Services for these Recording Purposes

• Commercials
• Promos
• IVR, voicemail, phone systems, and on-hold messages
• Training, business presentations, sales, and web sites
• Audiobooks
• Videogames
• Documentaries
• TV shows and movies
• Movie and game trailers
• Podcasts
• Others (on-camera, infomercials, live announcers, spokespersons)

Jobs I Am Willing to Take (Union-wise)

• Non-Union Jobs

• Jobs for ACTRA (Canada) signatories

• Jobs for AFTRA (US) signatories

• Jobs for British Equity signatories

• Jobs for SAG (US) signatories

• Jobs for Union des Artistes (Canada) signatories

My Union Affiliations and Memberships

None

My Recording and Delivery Capabilities

• I will go to any designated studio in my area
• I have ISDN in my studio
• I have Phone Patch in my studio
• I have Source Connect in my studio
• I can record and then deliver the audio files via Email
• I can record and then upload the audio files via FTP
• I can record and then deliver the files by regular mail

Pre-, Post- and Production Services I Offer

• I offer copywriting services
• I can deliver edited and finished voice tracks
• I offer voice direction services
• I offer radio ad production services
• I have a music library and can add music to any project
• I can add special effects to any project

My Home Base

Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

Accents, Impersonations, Characters and Dialects

Overbearing boss, gravel-voiced cabby, spunky old coot, southern "good ol' boy", self-important orator, and most any variation on a stereotypical villan or "heavy". Or, for contrast, a cartoonish superhero!

My Voice Experience

My first commercial job was for Planters Peanuts in 1966. I popped the mike so badly it shredded the ribbon inside! Since then I've developed better mike technique and have done so many radio and TV commercials that I feel safe in saying that my voice has probably been heard in virtually every market in the US! Freelance voiceover and audio production has been my only source of income for nearly 30 years, having left my last salaried position in 1981. I've also done voice work in several other countries such as Ireland, South Africa, Switzerland, and even voiced the only paid commercials ever broadcast in Indonesia! I've done ADR work to beef up an actor's dialog, lip syncing his lines. I've announced live, national network broadcasts both on and off camera. I've done cartoon voices, awards presentations, trade show displays, on-hold telephone messages, and just about anything you can imagine a voice talent doing. Once, I confess, I even did an on-camera TV spot selling a toilet paper dispenser that played "The Yellow Rose of Texas" when you pulled off a sheet!

So, what can I do for you?

My Training

College education:
The American University of Beirut, Lebanon '60-'63
Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA '63-'65 (AB degree)
Graduate School:
Trinity University's Graduate Theater Extension,
Dallas Theater Center '65-'66

Audio Production Training:
WBT Radio, Charlotte, NC '76-'81
Jeffersonics Studio, Charlotte, NC '76-'81
Jay Howard Audio, Charlotte, '81-'05(non salaried)

Misc.... I played guitar and sang folk songs in the '60s, performing on CBS TV's "On Broadway Tonight" in '64, and toured Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma coffee houses '65-67. I was the regular "house act" at Dallas' legendary Rubiyatt coffee house during those same years.

My Studio Equipment

ProTools LE 7.4 / 8.0
MBox 2 Pro (2 units)
Digi-001 rack unit
Original MBox
MacPro dual core, 8 gig RAM/two 500 gig drives
Mac G4 dual 1.25 mhz, standby/back up computer
Toshiba PC laptop for location recording
Neumann microphones: TLM-103 (2 units) and U-87
PreAmps: Digidesign, ProSonus, Joe Meeks
Telos Zephyr XStream ISDN codec
Gentner Digital Hybrid II phone patch interface
Tannoy monitors
Alesis power amp
Roland (digital) & Behringer (analog) side chain mixers
Assorted rack goodies: DAT recorder, CD burner, reverb units, compressors, EQ, etc. (seldom needed)
Misc. Music and SFX libraries
Fred & Ethel, the studio dogs (Westies)

Additional Skills

In addition to voice work, I am also an accomplished audio engineer and producer with experience in all areas of commercial audio production, including sync-to-video audio tracks and sound design.

I am also an experienced writer for media, familiar with everything from radio and TV advertising to industrial non-broadcast script development. I am especially good a finding ways to put a script "on a diet", cutting it's length without cutting relevant content.

My years as a musician serve me well in the editing department, where I can usually get library music to sound like a custom-made track, tailored to the script.

Payment Methods Accepted

• PayPal
• Personal checks, cashier's checks, or money orders in my local currency
• Wire transfers

Contact Information

To contact Joe Van Riper by email or phone, please click here.