AT A GLANCE
Genre: Contemporary Dance Film
Date Composed: 2004
Key Creatives:
Joshua Tyler – Director / Producer
Anton and Joshua Tyler- Choreographer
Tom Davies – Dancer
In 2004, a group of film students at AFTRS gathered in the studio with a singular vision: to create something that would challenge the boundaries between movement, sound, and image. The result was Reckoning—a visceral exploration of what lies beneath the surface of sanctity.
This wasn’t filmmaking by committee. It was true collaboration—every member of the team working side by side on set and in post-production, their creative instincts merging into a unified artistic voice.
Director: Joshua Tyler
Producer: Joshua Tyler
Composer: Fiona Hill
Choreographers: Anton and Joshua Tyler
Performer: Tom Davies
Cinematographer: Devris Hassan
Camera Operator: Craig Jackson and Devris Hassan
Editor: Granaz Moussavi
Music Mix: William Lawlor
Orchestra: The Studio Orchestra Sydney
Vocals: Fiona Hill
Conductor: Fiona Hill
Concert Master: Philip Hartle
Orchestra Contractor: Caralie Hartle
Recording Engineer: Chris McKeith
Engineers Assistant: Greg Derine
Recording Studio: Studios 301
Orchestral Advisor: John Charles
Music producer: Danielle Weissner
The Sound of Shadows
At the heart of Reckoning beats an unexpected contradiction: the hymn “Let There Be Light,” orchestra combined with electronics through texture. Vocals filtered through a Roland JP8080 synthesizer create an otherworldly sonic landscape—part sacred chorus, part digital incantation. The hybrid electronic orchestral score weaves together reverence and rupture, light and shadow.
The music doesn’t accompany the dance—it interrogates it. Against stark, haunting visuals, the hymn becomes a question rather than an answer, exposing the tension between religious purity and the darkness it often conceals.
Early Experiments, Lasting Impacts
Reckoning represents more than a student film. It captures a moment when emerging artists discovered the power of collective creation—when technical experimentation met raw artistic impulse, and everyone in the room had something essential to contribute.
Twenty years later, it stands as a document of fearless early work: unpolished, uncompromising, and unforgettable.
