30
30
PL & P
A Consummate Creative Professional
In Conversation with Lighting Designer Brent Clark
By Andrew King
“ Always willing to listen , always willing to try new things .”
So begins Brent Clark ’ s professional biography , and a quick look at his design credits throughout his career as a lighting designer indicates that ’ s an attitude he ’ s kept central to his work .
Clark is a longtime fixture of the Canadian live production industry . In a career dating back to the mid- ’ 80s , he ’ s lent his creative touch to an enviable variety of tours by artists including Jeff Healey , Our Lady Peace , Jann Arden , Avril Lavigne , Stereophonics , and of course , The Tragically Hip . In fact , it was Clark ’ s design that framed the iconic Canadian rock band for The Tragically Hip : A National Celebration , the live broadcast of the last stop of the band ’ s final tour enjoyed by over 11 million viewers around the world .
Clark was kind enough to take some time amidst a lengthy global run with U . K . rock band Stereophonics to speak candidly with Professional Lighting & Production about designing , listening , learning , collaborating , and yes , trying new things – all of which have helped to cement his status as one of Canada ’ s most sought-after creative professionals .
PL & P : So you ’ re currently out on a global trek with Stereophonics , which we ’ ll get into shortly , but in the meantime , what else is keeping you busy of late ? Anything in the recent past or the near future that has you excited ?
BC : Well the Phonics have been keeping me pretty busy . Just on tour right now in Australia with stops in Singapore and Dubai .
What I have been up to is designing the upcoming Barenaked Ladies tour that will go out in the summer . The tour is called Last Summer on Earth , so that ’ s been keeping me busy . I also designed
Brent Clark
the last Glorious Sons show in Kingston and that is hopefully going to be a tour in the fall .
I always get excited designing new stuff , so every challenge gets me excited . I really like trying to find new technologies and figure out a way to be inventive in production design .
PL & P : You ’ ve been doing this since the mid- ’ 80s , and have worked with a number of high-profile artists in that time . What was your first tour where you were predominantly working in arenas , or maybe more specifically , the one where you might have said to yourself , “ Now this is what I ’ ve been working towards ?”
BC : The first tour where I realized what I had been working towards was when I was out with Jeff Healey in 1989 and the LD , for lack of a better term , got fired and I had to step in and LD the tour and then realized that it was all on my shoulders . I thought it was pretty cool , but was scared out of my mind !
From there , the next big tour would ’ ve been in 1997 with Our Lady Peace on the Clumsy tour . That was the first really big arena run that I got to design . It was so much fun but extremely stressful . That ’ s when I realized that I had started to achieve my goals .
And I am still trying to achieve my goals . I think that ’ s what keeps me going – I am always trying to better myself and trying to learn every chance I get . I am still looking for the big break . As I always say , I will become an overnight success soon …
PL & P : There ’ s been a lot of industry discussion in recent years about the increasing convergence between lighting and video , though I understand you ’ ve been working with media servers and video content for close to 15 years now . Has that been a significant competitive advantage for you over the years ?