Flash in the can: associated TV builds niche with instant videos based on pop culture hits.

DAVID McKenzie thinks most independent producers in Hollywood have the process backward.

Instead of developing a movie concept and then trying to sell it to a studio, he believes they should start with the moment of final sale and work in reverse back to creation.

That seemingly odd strategy has paid off for McKenzie's Associated Television International, a Los Angeles-based producer of syndicated TV shows and home videos. Then again, McKenzie has an advantage.

His fare includes quasi-documentary instant knockoffs of popular movies such as the "The Da Vinci Code," "Pirates of the Caribbean" and the recent Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line."

"We are a sales and marketing organization first and then we are producers, said McKenzie "Our business strategy is based on the idea that no one in retail wants something they have to explain. If you have a product that cleans scissors, it explains itself. If you have an inspirational video called 'My Mountain Isn't High Enough,' the customer has to pick it up, read the packaging and make a decision. That doesn't work for video retailers."

Instant books on popular themes, such as the Iraq War or Paris Hilton, have been staples of the publishing industry for years. Now they are paying off well for Associated Television as it has moved the concept to video.

Take retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which told McKenzie it wanted a documentary about police SWAT teams to take advantage of the hype surrounding an upcoming movie, "S.W.A.T." from Columbia Pictures.

Other companies might have reacted by putting together a production deal, but Wal-Mart wanted the video in six weeks. Since Associated was already staffed to produce a great deal of material, it had in place the infrastructure of writers, directors, producers, camera crews and editors. In just five weeks, the company churned out "S.W.A.T.: The Real Story," which soon became Wal-Mart's No. 3-selling video.

The company has replicated the technique by producing easy-sell titles. If retailers think politics, movies, holidays or a celebrity death will throw a subject into the spotlight of public opinion, ATI can deliver a relevant video.

The company hit the mother lode of knockoffs with the success of Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code." First ATI examined the book's thesis objectively in "Unlocking Da Vinci's Code." Anticipating that ardent Christians would object to the book, ATI produced a video rebuttal called "Exposing the Da Vinci Code." Then came "Da Vinci Code Tour," which took viewers to locations portrayed in the book. The final video examines the eccentric artist at the center of the controversy: "The Secret Life of Leonardo Da Vinci." A more typical example occurred with the death of Johnny Cash and the release of the biographical film "Walk the Line." ATI answered with "The Unauthorized Biography of Johnny Cash."

"The idea in the market was that people were interested in Johnny Cash," said John Ross, the supervising producer at ATI, who turned around the project in four months. "But we saw this as a documentary that would stand on its own, not just because of the release of the film. People will be interested in Johnny Cash and listening to his music for a long time."

ATI titles such as "Real Pirates of the Caribbean" "The Spirit of Princess Diana" (including directions for conducting a seance to contact her) and "A Tribute to Pope John Paul II" feature subjects that enjoy occasional publicity jolts, but are also permanently embedded in the public consciousness. As a result, ATI can sell through various distribution channels, including broadcast syndication, cable, pay-per-view, foreign TV, in-flight and home video.

Spotlighting the market

ATI started in 1967, producing specials for the three broadcast networks. Currently, its TV output is focused on syndication and international sales. Top shows include "American Adventurer" with Erik Estrada, "Laura McKenzie's Travel America," and "Mysteries, Magic & Miracles."

An hour of syndicated programming runs 48 minutes, leaving 12 minutes for commercials. ATI gets six minutes, which it normally sells to national advertisers. The other six minutes go to the TV station for local ads. In a typical month, ATI controls about $18 million in syndicated ad time, McKenzie estimates. As the company has moved into the home video market, it has frequently leveraged that time by using it to flog its own products. When the Johnny Cash bio launched, it had almost 800 30-second TV spots behind it.

McKenzie's advice to other entrepreneurs comes down to a single word: control.

"If you do not have control of the marketing, you do not control your fate," said McKenzie. "'If you don't control the money, you're in trouble. You have to be as close to the source of sales as possible," he said.

While McKenzie refused to divulge the ATI's total revenues, he said the company expects a profit of 30 percent to 35 percent on each product. That figures grows as the product moves through its various distribution windows.

However, Robert Lorsch, chief executive of holding company RHL Group in Los Angeles, has advertised some of his companies on ATI's syndicated shows as well as invested in TV projects.

"The good news is I never lost money. That doesn't come easy in the television business," said Lorsch, who is working with them to promote his latest venture, mymedicalrecords.com, by sponsoring segments on medical and travel shows.

BY JOEL RUSSELL

Staff Reporter