Giorgio Gomelsky - Filmmaking in England

Filmmaking in England

The weekly readings of the Melody Maker, and the lack of further documentation, convinced Giorgio that his vocation would be to film the burgeoning UK jazz scene. He had seen the 1948 film Jammin' The Blues and had formed forward-thinking stylistic ideas including synchronised fast cutting. He succeeded in obtaining a 500 UKP commission from a young Italian TV station and departed for England.

In London he established a relationship with the National Jazz Federation, run by Harold Pendleton, who also managed Britain's top jazz star of the time Chris Barber. Despite Giorgio's inclination to shoot the avant-garde Johnny Dankworth, Pendleton prevailed on him to shoot Chris Barber. The resulting piece, comprising four songs, intercut establishing and audience reaction shots from the Royal Festival Hall with a separate studio session footage. The studio footage, shot in one day, used cutting-edge technology like large Mitchell cameras with 'elephant' suspended mics that restricted camera movements in the small studio, preventing Giorgio from getting all the angles he had hoped for.

This first film was sufficiently well-received that two years later Giorgio filmed Chris Barber for a second time - now a 3 camera shoot in b&w Cinemascope.

Harold Pendleton had started the National Jazz Festival and Giorgio had participated as a volunteer helper at the first one in 1959. He was able to secure the rights to film the 1960 festival, A producer/backer was found - Frank Green, the owner of a facility on Wardour Street where Giorgio had edited his earlier films. Filming was with 4 b/w cameras. Sound was recorded on the Leevers-Rich synchro-pulse system, allowing separate recording of audio on magnetic tape. The intercom between the cameras was the Royal Artillery's system which, designed to be heard over cannon fire, was so loud that at times it would get picked up by the stage mics! Giorgio edited two pilots from the footage, including a piece of the new Alexis Korner Blues Incorporated with Charlie Watts on drums, but Green was unable to find a buyer.