Introducing Video Toaster 4000

Anyone with an advanced film degree knows that Video FX peaked in 1992 when Snoop Dogg turned into a doberman in the “What’s My Name” music video.

But back then, if you wanted to achieve that level of technical wizardry at home, the deck was stacked against you. Amateur videographers who wanted to take their home movies to the next level used to have to send them off to a random Culver City P.O. Box and hope for the best. Adding a star wipe to little Susie’s seventh birthday party footage would cost upwards of five hundred dollars — and you’d be lucky to receive it by the time she turned eight.

Then came the Video Toaster 4000. Powered by a Commodore Amiga, it revolutionized the field of cheesy transition FX and crappy word art graphics. To announce the new product, Team Toaster released this infomercial featuring celebrity testimonials from pro skater Tony Hawk, magician Penn Jillette, and sentient mayonnaise smeared on white bread Wil Wheaton. It was impossible to watch this short and not think to yourself “That cost how many thousands of dollars??” Still, it looks better than 85% of the movies we cover at RiffTrax.

Having mastered 90's mainstays The Internet and Bike Safety, Conor and Sean turn their attention to technology that was obsolete by the time you finished saying “Kiki Stockhammer” in Introducing Video Toaster 4000!

Written by: Conor Lastowka & Sean Thomason