Paul Bisbrown

‘The End’ looks to address the consequences of pre-determinism through the lens of mortality. The final output of this project speculates on the eventual demise of the protagonist through film and animation. However, by embodying the ‘Many Worlds Theory’, there is not just one outcome, but an infinite spectrum of potential possibilities for my inevitable demise.These potential deaths are examined through the development of ‘chapters’, in which each potential end, acts as serial investigation, each chapter learning from the previous, in a seemingly endless rehearsal to the eventual final passing.

Each chapter is framed through the narrative of an individual film genre. By applying a form of machine learning to a series of film scripts from a genre, a new 'meta-script' is generated. The resultant meta-script picks up on various tropes contained within these genres, but reproduced in an uncanny way. These scripts become the narrative base for each Chapter, whether portrayed through the style of a Western or Horror.

The six chapters shown in this body of work are just a selected few out of the infinite potential possibilities in the way I shall die.

6/∞

To explore the implications of this predetermined world, ‘The End’ is driven by the use of computer scripting. The term ‘script’ is a homonym, defined as a the ‘written text for a play or film’, or within computing as, “an automated series of instructions carried out in a specific order”. These scripts allow for a glimpse into what life would be like, if we absolved all free will and instead lived our life solely through the use of computer algorithms.

For this scripted life to be possible, one must form the data base from which predictions can be generated. In this regard, ‘Models’ have become the paramount method through which we begin to understand our physical reality and begin to allow us to project into the future. This is evident through the £1.2 B billion pounds invested into the MET office to generate a model of increased precision. However, despite their increasing accuracy, these models remain flawed and are further hampered by the seemingly unknown events, such as global warming and pandemics. With this in mind, the only way to accurately predict how future events will unfurl, is through creating a 1:1 model of the world. By accurately mapping and measuring all elements within the world, this model of greater fidelity would allow for accurate predictions for things to come, casting out with greater confidence into the future.

These models have to be inhabited by all manner of objects. A prop, or ‘properties’, is both the object in itself and the means through which describe it through the values it encodes. In this manner, our universe is described through the objects and our relation to them, forming an interconnected web of plots between all manner of things, both animate and inanimate.

With the potentiality of such models, the only element left is to believe in them.

In relation to understanding how the consequences of pre-determinism have had a significant effect on our lives, one prominent factor - particularly in light of the past year - is the role of mortality. This year has placed us all with unprecedented proximity with death, in which stats and figures are used to create projections. Often positioning mortality against other factors such as the economy. 'Four Deaths' above depicts the hypothetical death of the protagonist in this story. These deaths are determined by the spurious correlations that link statistics together, that would not normally be associated. For example, amount of music copyrighted and deaths by strangulation falling out of bed and dying and the amount of iPhone sales.

Set theory is a branch of mathematical logic used to informally categorise objects. One element of set theory, Russel’s paradox, states that any definable collection is a set. Let R be the set of all sets that are not members of themselves. If R is not a member of itself, then its definition dictates that it must contain itself, and if it contains itself, then it contradicts its own definition as the set of all sets that are not members of themselves.

In this scenario, as the set is all encompassing, it must include itself and model based on the outcomes it produces. In this theory, the architecture must include the script that determines it, thus creating a looping paradox. The set within a set - The script within the script - A plot within a plot.

With my belief in this new faith paradigm, I am just one actor within this set, playing out my predetermined part in a series of infinite possibilities.