The human thread
Who Aman and Steve are became who Toast is
Aman Narang and Steve Fredette
Third co-founder Jonathan Grimm appears in the early years through archival photos and a super. Comms to confirm the treatment.
Two storyboard concepts on one story spine: one narrated, one told entirely in their own words.
Ten minutes, nothing before it, and Aman walks on stage the moment it ends. Every interview, clip and line ladders up to one of these.
A failed 2012 idea became a platform for nearly 200k locations.
Restaurants have been our teachers since day one.
Pivots, the pandemic and the IPO prove we can weather anything.
Fifteen years is a launchpad, not a finish line.
We’re in the business of making customers successful one customer at a time.
Press and news footage for the doubters, March 2020 and IPO day. Every clip needs selection and licensing before it goes in the cut.
Every interview in the film lives on one of these five sets.
Aman and Steve side by side, wide plus tights. They remember, react and interview each other.
Aman on his own, straight down the lens, for the beats that are his to tell.
Steve on his own, straight down the lens, including the “one customer at a time” bookend.
Toasters interviewed on location at One Team, longtime Toasters next to new hires.
Restaurateurs in their own restaurants: the dining room, the kitchen, behind the counter.
Scale with warmth: a Toast event wide, lit like a film set
Founder interview: window light, shallow depth
Product inserts with clean, on-brand supers
Built sets and practical color for story beats
Comedic narrative beats, cinematic not corporate
Every interview gets a wide and a tight, matched shot for shot. Hover a frame, or flip them all.
Each founder, Toaster and customer gets a wide and a tight, so we can cut on the best line.
Same lens height and eyeline across 11/11, 11/12 and December, so every location matches.
Warm skin, cool backgrounds and soft daylight, so old and new interviews intercut cleanly.
| A · The Storyteller | B · In Their Own Words | |
|---|---|---|
| Who tells it | A narrator, with interviews as proof | The people who lived it |
| Timeline clarity | Highest; VO names every year | Supers and graphics carry it |
| Rides on 11/12 | Less; VO bridges any gaps | More; Plan B questions ready |
| Emotional pull | Warm and guided | Personal; the biggest payoff |
| Best if Toast wants | Control and polish | Authenticity above all |
Shoot for B, protect with A: cut Concept B first and keep a light narrator ready for chapter transitions.
Which sets should speak straight down the lens, and which should hold an off-camera eyeline to an interviewer?
How far should we lean into it? How much of the basement should we build?
Set 4 is where we interview Toasters. Should we add another set at One Team, splitting it into Set 4A and Set 4B?