ABSTRACT
The demonstration format, sometimes called “show and tell,” has been a part of television since its very early days. It includes productions ranging from The French Chef with Julia Child, which “shows and tells” how to cook, to segments with Jay Leno, David Letterman, or any other television host who shows album covers, funny pictures, funny headlines, and so on. The cooking channel is based almost exclusively on showing and telling about cooking. Much of the production in corporate videos is created using demonstration formats. The “how-to” section of video-rental outlets gives ample testimony as to how much material there is in this area. All how-to productions, which are show-and-tell in nature, are very direct in what they’re trying to accomplish. They tell a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. They’re video cookbooks, and they say, “Here are the ingredients. These are the steps needed to combine the ingredients. This is what it finally looks like.” Each step along the way requires the director/producer to arrange for the audience to see only the most relevant material-at just the right time-for just the right length of time needed to tell the story.
