For Lucas Baiano, it all started with a YouTube clip. In 2007, the film student, sensing the “historic” nature of the upcoming election and the transformative power of new media, made a viral video in support of Hillary Clinton that turned snippets from the candidate’s campaign speeches into a full-fledged movie trailer.
Baiano’s subsequent attempts to get the attention of the Clinton campaign lead him to a book signing with Bill Clinton and countless fundraisers and campaign stops – a journey that forms the basis for his feature-length documentary, “Lucky Strike.” The film’s world premiere is Thursday, May 6, at the 2010 Politics on Film festival in Washington, DC.
“Lucky Strike,” which Baiano describes as a “light-hearted” look at the 2008 campaign, tracks the filmmaker’s quest to get a bowling pin signed by Clinton during the hectic 2007-2008 primary season after first meeting her at a Lucky Strike bowling alley in Miami. “My journey parallels Sen. Clinton’s,” the 21-year-old Baiano says. “I’m the underdog in the film.”
But — much like a political campaign — when Baiano started making his movie, he wasn’t sure how it would all turn out. “We had no idea where we were going,” he says. “We just kept the camera rolling.”
The film captures the moment when viral videos and Facebook posts were just starting to be taken seriously by the political establishment. “[New media] wasn’t at its peak yet,” Baiano says, explaining why his initial clip caught so many eyeballs. At that point, the cable news networks were still treating each new viral clip — “Obama Girl,” anyone? — as a news story in and of itself. For a film student interested in politics, it seemed only natural to put something online and try to get some hits.
Asked how the rise of new media is affecting politics, Baiano admits, “It could work both ways for you.” For every campaign gaffe that gets amplified on the internet, a candidate without a budget can create innovative ads, post them online and gain an audience, he says. “It’s another way for independents and individuals to be discovered.”
Further, for elected officials, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have quickly become the most effective ways of reaching the ever-elusive youth vote. “It’s great to see politicians leaning that way [towards new media,]” Baiano says. “It’s a great way to connect to the youth.”
Baiano is excited his film is making its world premiere in DC in front of a politically aware audience, which could include some of his co-workers – since completing “Lucky Strike,” Baiano has taken up work as a film and visual media expert with a political association in the District. It’s a fitting job for the young filmmaker: As “Lucky Strike” ably illustrates, when it comes to politics, viral has gone mainstream.
~By Aaron Lovell
Lucky Strike World Premiere, Thursday, May 6, 7 p.m., Landmark E Street Cinema