The opening shot of a new video about Sen. John McCain shows a young Navy pilot encased in a giant, clumsy-looking plaster cast. With his one free hand, he smokes a cigarette as he gives a foreigner interviewer his name, rank and serial number.

From that image of McCain, badly injured from a plane crash and captive in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp, the title flashes over the sound of a gong: Courageous service. Experienced leadership. Bold solutions.

The film will be distributed widely today, available on the front page of the website for the Arizona Republican's presidential campaign; screened at campaign events in Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire; and handed out as DVDs to supporters. In 12 minutes, it sketches the history of McCain's harrowing experiences during the bombing of an aircraft carrier and as a prisoner of war, drawing comparisons between his courage as a captive pilot and his abilities as a leader.

"Some people know about his prisoner of war experience. Few people know anything more," said Mark McKinnon, a media adviser to the McCain campaign who directed President Bush's media efforts during both of his presidential runs. "It's helpful for voters to understand that he's been through some very difficult challenges and measured up every time."

When McCain first ran for president in 1999, his campaign released a similarly themed video, featuring black-and-white footage from his prisoner days. At the time, 50,000 VHS tapes were mailed to supporters at a cost of $65,000. When he created a biographical video for the Bush campaign, McKinnon said, the production cost was near $100,000.

Today's video cost just $5,000 to make and much less to distribute, thanks to digital video cameras, laptop editing software and the internet. McCain supporters in New Hampshire will receive a card in the mail with a web link to the video instead of a bulky tape.

Campaign media advisers predicted that longer digital campaign videos will become more and more frequent as the campaign wears on, fueled by the low cost of production and the potential for many viewings online. Candidates have already begun loading their websites with clips from speaking engagements, but McCain is not alone in developing a documentary-style film. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's campaign released an eight-minute video detailing his background in community organizing and sketching some campaign themes. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney released a homey account of his decision to run for president, featuring his wife and children.

"I've been doing this for five years, so it's kind of like, finally, people are waking up and realizing these things do get a lot of eyeballs on them on the web," said Justin Germany, a campaign consultant for McCain who filmed and edited the video for the campaign himself. "Especially as you get less bang for your buck on television, you get more bang for your buck online."

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By MARGOT SANGER-KATZ

Monitor staff