THE VIDEO BEHIND THE VIDEO . . .

The big number on cable-delivered HBO these days is an hour video about the making of the music video/recording session that produced the smash single “We Are the World.”

All that’s missing now is a video about the video about the making of the video. That could be followed by a video about the video about video about the making of the video.

They could call it “We Are the Videos.”

HBO showed “USA for Africa: The Story of ‘We Are the World’ ” for the first time Wednesday night and is replaying it throughout the month. Jane Fonda is the narrator.

“We Are the World” is becoming almost a cottage industry, albeit a nonprofit one, with revenue from the record, video and video about the making of the video designated for the fight against hunger, mostly in Africa (10% of the funds are earmarked for America).

Unfortunately, a growing proliferation of “We Are the World” spinoffs and ripoffs is making even the most legitimate efforts seem like overkill.

The song was recorded in Los Angeles by 45 rock and pop music stars at a 10-hour session that began at 10 p.m. Jan. 28.

In addition to segments of the recording session, viewers are given a behind-the-scenes glimpse of preparations being made by Quincy Jones and others.

Then comes the hour-by-hour account. Six cameras are rolling. There are oodles of microphones to catch conversation and every hiccup. And there are voiceovers by Fonda telling us how extraordinary the event is and by some of the performers telling us what it means to them.

The gathering of so many American super singers in a studio without their entourages is historic, of course. But that has been talked and written about for so long--and the video shown so many times--that the impact is diminished. The cause is good, but the program is often more pretentious than interesting.

And you have to wonder about the supposed cinema verite technique. How natural is a performer with a TV camera looking up his nose?

There is some choice footage: A swaying, stomping Ray Charles singing his solo while reading lyrics in Braille; Cyndi Lauper having to remove most of her jewelry because it is making too much noise.

There are also some puzzles.

One is the presence of two Ethiopian women. According to Fonda, Stevie Wonder brings them in at 4 a.m. They give a speech, thanking the singers, reducing some of them to tears. But what were these two women doing out at 4 a.m., and how did Wonder, who is blind, find them? Perhaps the answer will come in another video.

This trend toward behind-the-scenes videos is so strong, meanwhile, that I hate to be left out. So I present to you now: “The Story of My Column About the Story of ‘We Are the World.’ ”

Me (on the phone to an editor): You say you want me to review HBO’s video about the making of “We Are the World”? All right. Goodby.

Yes, it all began with that stirring phone call. And then on the evening of May 1, I was able to witness an extraordinary event--the writing of this column by me.

I approached my task with serious purpose and with a sense of humor. But let me digress. A few days before the historic writing of this column, a meeting took place with my editors .

Me: I think I should do the column for Friday.

Editor: I think you should do it for Thursday.

Another editor: Who cares?

Well, there it was, a historic exchange about a historic column.

As I sat down in front of my word processor at 10 p.m., I detected a spirit of cooperation and amiability between myself and me. First, I picked out my nouns. Then I chose my verbs. Then I selected my adjectives. It wasn’t long before the column began to have enough shape and substance to bind together my diverse thoughts.

That must have been because o f my spirit of cooperation and amiability.

I worked six hours until 4 a.m. At that point my wife brought in two neighbors who thanked me for the column I was writing. I cried, because these were my least favorite neighbors and I didn’t like having them in my house.

I went back to work. At 8 a.m., I completed the column, pulling the complex elements into a cohesive package. I was tired, but also so happy that I was included, that I hugged myself.

My mother: Howard is the voice of the people.

My wife: I think it’s a great thing that he’s done. I think all TV critics should definitely do something positive like this.

Me: When my editors asked me to do this column or be fired, I was delighted to do it.

I turned off my word processor. Daylight had come and it was time to turn on TV and watch Phyllis George.