He’s a director, an editor, a movie composer and a producer with two feature films under his belt. And he hasn’t even graduated from college yet.

Harry Locke, a third-year in journalism at Ohio State, has dreams of making it big in the movie business. By day, he attends classes and has a part-time job at the Wexner Center for the Arts. By night, he makes movies.

“My college experience is probably different than everyone else’s,” Locke said. “A good Friday, Saturday night for me is getting five or six scenes edited, getting my Web site updated and putting out press packets. I haven’t had the social enjoyment life that a lot of people out there have, and it doesn’t really bother me.”

Locke became interested in filmmaking in his junior year of high school, when he and friend Danny Grenchik filmed videos for book presentations in their English class. After receiving positive feedback on their presentations, Locke and Grenchik decided to go further with their newfound talent. They approached their friend Walter Banasiak to start a production company to film all their movies, and Power Trio Studios was born.

Power Trio Studios is the combined filmmaking efforts of the friends.

They finance and make the movies under this name and they distribute
the movies through their Web site. Banasiak and Grenchik both agree that Locke has put a lot of work into the studio.

“When it comes to people being driven and needing to get something done, you really couldn’t find anyone better to have in your corner,” Grenchik said.

Banasiak called Harry “one of the most hardworking people” he knows and said the trio started the movie company because they have “always been striving to do creative things.”

Once the studio was established, the three immediately began production on their first film, “Noir.”

“Noir” was released in March 2008 and follows the story of a corrupt cop and a hit man trying to start a new life. Locke wrote the screenplay and composed the film, and the group worked together on directing, producing and editing.

“Noir” premiered in Locke’s high school auditorium in Calumet City, Illinois, before a crowd of more than 100 people. DVDs of the movie were available for sale at the premiere.

The movie received a standing ovation and praise from the community. Locke and Power Trio Studios were awarded by the city, and their story was featured on local television and in The Chicago Tribune.

Locke said one reason the movie was received so well is that it was a “victory of what youth could do for filmmaking.”

Ten years ago, a couple of kids would not be able to make a feature-length film because of the cost of all the equipment, Locke said. Today, the equipment is more accessible, and anyone can make a movie on YouTube, he said.

“‘Noir’ was a victory,” Locke said. “It was more about that we actually got this done than about the movie itself.”

Soon after “Noir” was released, production began on the second film. Titled “I’m Still Here,” the movie follows the story of a man trying to reclaim his hometown from corruption. Banasiak wrote the script, but Locke worked on directing, editing and composing the film.

Locke called this film “bigger and better” than “Noir,” but the students ran into some trouble during filming. One of the main actresses dropped out a few weeks before the premiere date, forcing Locke to scramble to find a replacement.

The students were approached by police a few times for not having a filming permit. They still managed to released the film on time, in August 2009.

Like “Noir,” the movie was shown to a large crowd in Calumet City, but DVDs were not sold at the premiere. Locke is currently working on editing the DVD, and they will be available for sale on the Power Trio Studios Web site in December.

Next up for Locke is Power Trio Studios’ third movie, which Locke calls their “think piece.” Grenchik is currently writing the script, and Locke hopes to begin production on it in the summer of 2010, in time for his graduation in 2011.

One of the most impressive things about Locke’s movie career is that he, along with Grenchik and Banasiak, are completely self taught. Prior to filming “Noir,” none of them had any filmmaking experience. They bought all the equipment used to film, edit and compose the movies with their own money.

Despite his interest in filmmaking, Locke decided to major in journalism in college. If he were to receive a degree in film, he would want it to be a master’s degree, not a bachelor’s, he said.

He chose to receive his undergraduate degree in something other than film in case he can’t find a job making movies after college, he said.

Locke also picked journalism to sharpen his writing skills so he can write better scripts and press releases.

He said his experience in making movies is like his own personal film school, Locke said.

“‘Noir’ was kind of like the ‘freshman’ movie, just going through the motions,” Locke said. “‘I’m Still Here,’ the ‘sophomore’ year, is a lot more polished.

“We’re working on a third film, the ‘junior’ year, and then eventually a ‘senior’ film, like a graduation, where we’re hoping we are where we need to be as far as professionalism goes.”

Once he graduates from OSU, Locke said he would like to attend film school at University of Southern California, University of California at Los Angeles or New York University. He has also been looking into returning home to Chicago to be closer to the rest of Power Trio Studios. If he does this, Locke said he would not attend film school because he could receive enough experience from shooting more movies with Grenchik and Banasiak. In that case, he said he would like to receive his master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern.

If given the opportunity, Locke said he would like to make a living out of making movies, specifically as a screenwriter or director. But filmmaking is not Locke’s only passion.

“If filmmaking takes off, I wouldn’t limit myself to what I could do,” Locke said. “I mean, now I write music, I do film, I write just to write. I could see myself doing a lot of things.”

For more information on the studio and films, visit Power Trio Studios’ Web site at powertriostudios.com.