[3] At the time, Canada had a huge theatre-going public, and one theatre show would normally be a cartoon, a sponsored, promotional or informational film, and then the main feature.
[4] Eye Witness was less about propaganda and more about the NFB's mandate to show Canada to Canadians, and foster a greater sense of unity.
[5][6] It was also distributed by Columbia Pictures, which included Eye Witness in its international offerings.
The show was issued monthly, with each reel lasting from nine to twelve minutes and, for the most part, containing three distinct stories.
The show's first producer was Don Mulholland, who managed its difficult logistics by dispatching cameramen, rather than entire teams, to film stories.