Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 2003-2008 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
Video
• 1 optical disc : DVD (47 mins)
• 2 video cassettes : VHS (2 hrs)
Audio
• 3 optical discs : DVD (6 hrs)
Photographic
• 6 contact sheets : b&w ; 11x14 in.
• 15 contact sheets : col. ; 11x14 in.
Textual Materials
• 411.5cm textual materials
• 1 optical disc : DVD
• 4 computer disks : magnetic ; 3.75 in. zip brand floppy
• 1 computer disk : magnetic ; 3.5 in. floppy
Misc.
• 2 baseball caps
• 1 jacket
Context area
Name of creator
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
Administrative history
Creative Anarchy is a Toronto-based film production company. Creative Anarchy co-produced the crime documentary series Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science with Kensington Communications, and co-produced a similar series, 72 Hours: True Crime with Kensington Communications and Meech-Grant Productions.
Name of creator
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
72 Hours is a follow-up to Exhibit A, focusing on the premise that clues found during the first 72 hours of an investigation are key to solving crimes. The series was co-produced by Kensington Communications, Meech Grant Productions, and Creative Anarchy, and hosted by Graig Morris, Diane D’Aquila, and Ray Landry.
72 Hours consists of 45 episodes aired across three seasons. The series premiered on CBC (in English) and Canal D (in French). It was broadcast on TLC in the US, Bold, CourtTV, ichannel, and National Geographic Channel Canada, and on networks around the world. “Life of a Crime” is the American title of “72 Hours” for TLC, and “Indices pour l'éternité” is the French title.
In 2005 and 2007, 72 Hours: True Crime was awarded World Medals for docudrama at the New York Festivals.
Series includes textual and photographic records related to 72 Hours. For video records, see Kensington Communications & Creative Anarchy Fonds, 2021.007.
Textual records include invoices, cast & crew contracts, funding applications, include tax credit applications, agreements with distributors, budgets and financial statements, and correspondence. Series also includes promotional hat and clothing, media clippings, and production stills.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
No further accruals expected.
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
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
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Dates of creation revision deletion
Created Aug. 15, 2022 by Al Stanton-Hagan
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
72 Hours on IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0370099/?ref_=adv_li_tt
72 Hours on Kensington Communications website - https://kensingtontv.com/index.php/2003/09/20/72-hours/