Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1984-2007 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
Moving Image
• 9 reels : col. dupe negative, silent ; 16mm (7140 ft/3.5 hrs)
• 9 reels : col. print, col., optical sound ; 16mm (6600 ft/3 hrs)
• 1 reel : col. print, silent ; 16mm (275 ft/8 mins)
• 3 reels : col. interpositive, silent ; 16mm (1360 ft/38 mins)
• 8 reels : optical soundtrack ; 16mm (5210 ft/2.5 hrs)
Video
• 1 open reel : video ; 1 in., 7 inch reel (2 mins)
• 2 open reels : video ; 1 in., 9 in. reel (56 mins)
• 2 open reels : video ; 1 in., 10 in. reel (24 mins)
• 45 video cassettes : Betacam SP (14 hrs)
• 1 video cassette : Digital Betacam (1 min)
• 1 video cassette : Betacam (1 min)
• 13 video cassettes : MiniDV (13 hrs)
• 8 video cassettes : ¾ in. U-matic (2 hrs)
• 2 video cassettes : VHS (30 mins)
• 3 video cassettes : Hi-8 (3 hrs)
• 11 optical discs : DVD (10.5 hrs)
Audio
• 3 Audio cassettes (6 hrs)
• 7 audio cassettes : DAT (7.5 hrs)
• 2 audio cassettes : DA8 (1 hr)
• 1 open reel : audio ; ¼ in., 7 in. reel (24 mins)
• 2 open reels : audio ; ¼ in., 10.5 in. reel (1.5 hrs)
• 14 open reels : audio ; 2 in., 7 in. reel (30 mins)
• 3 optical discs : CD (2 hrs)
Textual
• 6cm textual materials
• 1 optical disc : CD
Photographic
• 2 prints : b&w ; 2x2.75 in.
• 6 prints : col. ; 2x2.75 in.,
• 39 prints : col. ; 4x6 in.,
• 2 prints : col. ; 4x10 in.,
• 2 prints : b&w ; 8x10 in.,
• 19 prints : col. ; 8x10 in.
• 3 transparencies : col. ; 35mm, mounted
• 4 transparencies : col. ; 35mm
• 60 negatives : b&w ; 35mm
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
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
Kensington Communications produced over 50 public service announcements for SeedChange (formerly USC Canada/Unitarian Service Committee) during the 1980s and 1990s, all directed and produced by Robert Lang. These short advertisements, shot on location in South Asia, featured on-camera appearances by Bruce Cockburn and June Callwood.
This series also includes short PSA videos (15-60 seconds) as well as longer films produced in relation to the USC advertisements:
Moving the Banyan Tree (1984) is a half hour documentary produced, directed and shot by Robert Lang in Bangladesh for USC. The French version “Sur le Chemin de Thakuragon” is also included.
River of Sand is a one-hour documentary that promotes the work of USC Canada. Written, directed, and produced by Robert Lang, it follows musician Bruce Cockburn as he travelled throughout Mali, discovering the music, people, and environmental challenges. It was broadcast on TVO, Vision, and other networks in Canada. A couple of Bruce’s songs on Breakfast in New Orleans Dinner in Timbuktu were inspired by his travels here. It features impromptu performances with Grammy award-winning Ali Farka Touré and awesome kora master Toumani Diabaté.
Path to Nepal is a 22 minute photographic document of Bruce Cockburn's journey to the remote Simla region of Nepal shot by photographer Tom Kelly and directed by Robert Lang. Kelly’s photographs are presented as a slideshow & video narrative story of the journey.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
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No further accruals expected
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Preservation concerns may limit access. Please consult an archivist.
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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
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Description control area
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Dates of creation revision deletion
Created Aug. 15, 2022 by Al Stanton-Hagan
Language(s)
- English