In a very aside sidebar to June 3’s election coverage was the media’s unfavorable notice that John McCain presented his general election kickoff speech in Kenner, La., in front of a green screen containing the slogan, “Change We Can Believe In.”

I’m not trying to pick on McCain (see this previous post about the HD impact on the candidate), but the New Media landscape doesn’t seem to favor him. When I saw McCain’s speech live, I was instinctively struck by the green backdrop. I thought of Stephen Colbert’s “Green Screen Challenge” from last year. In that little landmark of digital media integration, Stephen performed random stunts with a Star Wars light saber in front of a green chroma key background on his show, The Colbert Report. Then, he invited viewers to grab the footage from his website, fill in the backgrounds with creative imagery and submit the mashups for airing on his Comedy Central show. You can see the results here.

Well, sure enough, Stephen has now issued another Green Screen Challenge… aimed at McCain. And now a speech that many (even the candidate) would probably like to forget will mutate into a series of viral videos we’ll be seeing all summer long. Will this stunt impact the election? Probably not. McCain could end of looking like an unwitting New Media star, a doddering old guy, or something else. McCain has a sense of humor. He might even make one himself.

But I think the political science lesson to be learned here is clear, and very significant. Candidates no longer have complete control of their media images. With New Media, they now share that control with you.

Article Tags: chroma key | Election | green screen | Green Screen Challenge | HD | John McCain | mashup | political science | politics | Stephen Colbert | The Colbert Report | Tom Mitchell | viral video

Filed under: Election, High definition, Interactive, Interactive design, Multimedia art, TV, Uncategorized, Video, Viral