Series - Series 18: Separate Lives (1996)

Identity area

Reference code

Title

Series 18: Separate Lives (1996)

Date(s)

  • 1995-1998 (Creation)

Level of description

Series

Extent and medium

Video
• 93 video cassettes : Betacam SP (110.5 hrs)
• 6 video cassettes : VHS (10.5 hrs)
• 4 video cassettes : Digital Betacam (3 hrs)
Audio
• 4 audio cassettes : DAT (4 hrs)
Textual
• 8cm textual records
• 6 computer disks : magnetic ; 3.5 in. floppy
Photographic
• 173 prints : col. ; 4x6 in.
• 96 prints : b&w ; 5x7 in
• 98 prints : col. ; 5x7 in
• 4 negatives : b&w ; 35mm
• 13 transparencies : col. ; 35mm, mounted

Context area

Name of creator

(1980-)

Administrative history

Kensington Communications is a production company founded in 1980 in Toronto’s Kensington Market that has produced documentary and factual films, television shows, and multimedia projects for more than 40 years. Kensington has produced documentaries and series for the CBC and NFB, and its productions have been broadcast internationally on Discovery Channel, TLC, BBC, ZDF Arte, and other networks.
Early productions in the 1980s focused on social issues such as blended families (Stepdancing, 1986), youth suicide (Childhood’s End, 1981), and addiction (Out of the Past, 1989).
Many of Kensington’s productions have featured Earth’s natural environment and human activities that threaten it: Fragile Harvest (1986, the Nature of Things), Sacred Rhythm (1990), Sacred Balance with David Suzuki (2002), and Port Hope: A Question of Power (2005, The Nature of Things).
Kensington also has a history of producing iconic music documentaries. One Warm Line: The Legacy of Stan Rogers (1990), Mariposa: Under a Stormy Sky (1990), My Beat: The Life & Times of Bruce Cockburn (2001), and the City Sonic App (2009) all highlight Canadian music and musicians.
Kensington Communications worked with Bruce Cockburn over decades from the 1980s to the 2010s to produce short documentaries and advertisements for USC (formerly known as the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada) about their work in Nepal.
Kensington produced two successful crime series that focused on the role of forensics in solving real crimes – Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science, and 72 Hours: True Crime.
Recent TV productions include The Shadow Of Gold (2019), Risk Factor (2017), The Equalizer (2016), and three seasons of the popular international TV series Museum Secrets, which goes behind the scenes at great museums of the world.
Kensington Communications has also been a leader in using multimedia websites to enhance documentary and television content. River of Sand, Sacred Balance, Diamond Road, Raw Opium, and Museum Secrets all included website content. Museum Secrets included a tie-in app called Scopify to help visitors navigate the Royal Ontario Museum, and the documentary Risk Factor was accompanied by the Risk Navigator app.

Name of creator

(Floruit 1972-)

Biographical history

ROBERT LANG is an internationally recognized, award-winning filmmaker and television producer whose work has covered many documentary topics, from music programs and interactive media to science and social documentaries.

Lang founded the production company Kensington Communications in 1980, and in that role he has been responsible for hundreds of television programs, including: 3 seasons of 72 Hours: True Crime; the acclaimed four-part television series The Sacred Balance with David Suzuki; 5 seasons of the true crime series Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science; the Gemini Award-winning 3-part series Diamond Road; the 5-part series Shameless Idealists; and 3 seasons of the hit documentary program Museum Secrets.

He has worked as a director on many music productions with artists such as Bruce Cockburn, Emmylou Harris, Daniel Lanois, Jackie Richardson, Toumani Diabate and Ali Farka Toure.

Among his many award-winning documentaries and TV specials are the Gemini-winning Separate Lives, One Warm Line: the Legacy of Stan Rogers, Diamond Road, and The Equalizer (Canadian Screen Award).

Lang has produced many interactive digital projects over the years, from River of Sand interactive website (1998), to The Sacred Balance online (2003), Diamond Road interactive documentary (2007), Museum Secrets Interactive (2011), ScopifyROM, a mobile app to enhance the museum experience at the Royal Ontario Museum (2013) and Risk Navigator mobile app (2017).

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

One-hour documentary about the surgical separation of conjoined twins from Pakistan. Separate Lives won a Gemini Award for Best Science, Technology, Nature and Environment Documentary in 1998 and the half-hour version that aired on BBC 1 was the highest rated show that year, generating much discussion and debate.

Series includes source tapes on Betacam SP and VHS, voice overs on DAT tapes, prints of production stills and family photos, transcripts on 3.5 inch floppy disks, and various master versions on Betacam. Textual records include transcripts, tax credit applications, and correspondence with distributors. Tapes labelled “Pakistan Source Tapes” were filmed by a local crew in Lahore, Pakistan and not a Kensington crew.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

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Preservation concerns may limit access. Please consult an archivist.

Conditions governing reproduction

Media Commons does not own copyright of collection materials. Consult rights holder for reproduction(s).

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

    Language and script notes

    Physical characteristics and technical requirements

    Finding aids

    Allied materials area

    Existence and location of originals

    Existence and location of copies

    Related units of description

    Related descriptions

    Notes area

    Alternative identifier(s)

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    Description control area

    Description identifier

    Institution identifier

    University of Toronto Media Commons Archives

    Rules and/or conventions used

    Dates of creation revision deletion

    Created Aug. 15, 2022 by Al Stanton-Hagan

    Language(s)

    • English

    Script(s)

      Sources

      Accession area