Keynote

The World Is
Asynchronous

Keynote LeadDr. Werner VogelsAWS re:Invent 2022KEYNOTE

"The world is event-driven. The world is asynchronous. There's nothing we can do about it."

‹ All work

Inside this work

A keynote about building loosely coupled, event-driven systems, opened by a Matrix-inspired film imagining a fully synchronous world, where french fries are cooked one at a time.

I built the narrative and the run of show, and wrote the cold open that became one of the most talked-about openings in re:Invent history. I still can't look at a french fry without thinking about latency.

Production

RoleKeynote Lead
Creative DirectorPatrick Johnson
Program ManagerAarika Ellsworth
Technical Advisor & ContributorTravis Grizzel
ContributorMichael Ender
SpeakerDr. Werner Vogels
EventAWS re:Invent 2022
Opening filmMonks

Backstage

The keynote hall at re:Invent 2022, the audience in the dark facing three giant screens Werner Vogels on stage in a lambda t-shirt, lit by a projected galaxy Werner Vogels in front of "The world is asynchronous", a sunset sky full of birds Werner Vogels small on the stage below a vast swirling image on the screen Front of house: the vision mixer's monitors glowing in the dark below the stage A guest speaker from Trustpilot on stage The wide stage during the event-driven section, screens running its length The audience, lit blue, watching the keynote A guest speaker from Epic Games on stage