The help. This week: Jonathan Ramírez, voice over artist, talking head.

By Gonzalo López Martí / LMMIAMI.COM

Some people believe announcers make a lot of money. It is not the norm but in some cases it is quite true. When an announcer –aka voice over artist or voice over talent- is chosen to be the velvety voice of a national brand and lands an exclusivity contract, he or she can see their income skyrocket in exchange for relatively little work.

It helps that two powerful unions have their backs.

It must be noted though that this only applies to good old broadcast anchored campaigns with national advertisers who happen to be signatories of the union contracts regulating the industry.

The digital realm, on the other hand, opens up a huge horizon of opportunities for VO talent but is quite unregulated (or unenforced, if you will): it can be a free for all in the literal sense of the word.

In our industry, the Hispanic market, there was a time not too long ago when announcers (sorry, voice over artists) seemed to be stuck in the 50s. Over-the-top doesn’t quite describe their output. Telenovelero in the pejorative sense of the word might be more accurate. It was an experience akin to listening to Walter Mercado reciting García Lorca. In the bathtub. Our announcers used to have the range of a GPS device. An overly melodramatic GPS device. Cheer up, folks. Gonzalo brings good news. Times are a’changing. There’s a new breed of male & female voice over artists infusing new life to what used to be a regrettably cookie-cutterish profesh. They talk pretty. Warm & conversational. Cool. Even edgy, if the script requires it. El señor Jonathan Ramírez is a salient member of this new generation. Let’s listen to what he has to say (pun intended, wink wink nudge nudge).

Q: When and how did you start in the business? Did someone mentor you or give you your break?

JR: I came to Miami from Mexico City 12 years ago. My dream was to land a job with a record label but it never materialized, even with “connections” in the business. So I shifted my focus to marketing & advertising. I knocked on some doors. Nothing.  The $2,000 I had brought along were disappearing. Fast. Waiting tables was the next option. Off I went to South Beach to apply for jobs in the hospitality biz. Lo & behold: I had never waited tables before. I did have my old Numark 500 mixer in one of my duffel bags (I had been a DJ in Mexico City). Therefore, I pitched my services as a deejay. Suddenly, I was playing music for the patrons of a restaurant on Ocean Drive. A few months later I got a call from Royal Caribbean offering me a job as the guy who reviews passports and checks passengers in. Once in a while my job description included kicking out entire families from the vessel due to an expired passport. Nice. Welcome to hospitality. A few months later I finally got an offer from an ad agency, Creative on Demand, to work on several accounts they handled at the time, such as VW of America, Doner, Burger King, etc. A lot of people see my ginourmous afro and assume I was a creative but no, I was working in the account management side. Yes, I was, allegedly, the first account guy with an ‘fro in the history of advertising. Working on the agency side allowed me to get involved in recording sessions with voice-over talent. I always liked radio and some people told me I had a cool voice. Eventually I decided to make the move into the voice-over world. So I called Carlos Canales, an established voice-over artist who was and is the official voice for different brands and campaigns, to ask for his advice. He was gracious enough to tell me I had a good chance to carve a niche for myself in the industry, so I made a demo and sent it to Aidita Alamo at Bohemian Sound. After various casting calls and nervous, botched sessions I got my first break with a VO gig for Delta Airlines (thank you Matías Iribarne from Diego Heymann!).

Q: What do you love about our business? What do you hate?

JR: I love to help people and make their projects happen, to be part of those ideas. Oh, and the parties of course. I hate when people underestimate your work and want to pay a f*****g peanuts.

Q: Mention the best campaigns you have seen recently.

JR: I liked the Beats by Dre “The Game Before the Game” campaign, it combines two things that I really like, soccer and music. Even if there’s no voice-over in the spot, I think is great.

Q: Mention the worst campaigns you have seen recently.

JR: There are so many that I can’t remember one.

Q: What is the future of the VO industry?

JR: I used to believe the social media explosion would be a mortal blow for the VO industry but it is still going strong. It has found a way to integrate itself into the new reality. Traditional media is still active, so I think the future of the VO industry is solid. Our unions (SAG & AFTRA) are strong and engaged, they protect our interests, they collect our fees and they make sure our work is fairly compensated.

Q: Please describe the compensation model in the VO profession. Do you get paid through residuals? Do you usually get paid “scale” or is it negotiable? What do you think of so-called “buyout” deals and session fees? Is it mandatory to join the union and work under its wing?

JR: It depends on the project, usually I get paid “scale”. Once the air cycle of the spot ends, if it starts running again, I get paid through residuals. Some “buyout” deals and session fees are fair but most of them are low. It is not mandatory to join the union, but more and more clients require union talent, therefore it makes sense professionally to become a member. Plus, being a member you get a lot of benefits.

Q: What is the future of the TV landscape?

JR: I don’t know, but I hope more and more relevant content keeps coming to us through different channels, treating audiences with respect. We’re controlling what we want to see, it’s amazing.

Q: What’ is your take on social media?

JR: It is a great tool that allows us to do both amazing and terrible things. I just think we’re abusing it sometimes. We’re addicted to it. We live in a permanent overdose, oblivious to other amazing stuff happening around us. Like everything in life, it is a matter of finding a balance.

Q: How are Latinas doing in the VO profession?

JR: Definitely, I see more and more Latinas in the business. Female VOs are still used in some stereotypical ways but overall we are headed in the right direction.

Q: How’s the VO talent pool these days?

JR: Like everything, you find talent that’s great and talent that’s not so great. A lot of people think it is an easy job but it requires education, practice, perseverance and guts.

Q: You have done quite a lot of jobs as a “talking head”: moderator, deejay, presenter and MC, on-air & live. Is acting in your plans?

JR: Not really, though I did some acting for short films, TV commercials and promos. I think acting requires years and years of preparation, I’m old already and not really interested, but if it happens why not? If I get a small role in a film from Robert Rodriguez, Takashi Miike or Quentin Tarantino, where someone cuts my head off with a machete at a bar fight or I shoot everyone inside a church with a bazooka then I would love to be in the acting world.

Q: What brands have you worked with in the last couple years?

JR: Ford, HBO, Tobacco Free Florida, Converse, AT&T, Discovery Networks, Mc Donald’s, Miami Dolphins, Sony, Coca-Cola, Telemundo, Corona, State Farm, Coors Light, Time Warner, Jimmy Dean, Fedex, FIAP, DirecTV, HP, Winn Dixie, Santa Rita, Masterpass, Line, Tire Kingdom, Florida Highway, SOI TV, Georgia Lottery, Tracfone, Florida Lottery, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, KFC, Florida Lottery, Stanley Black & Decker, Subway, CNet, Tiger Direct, NTB, Puig, Cassa, ASME, etc.