In middle school, Jack McClintock thought he was destined to become an electrical engineer. He hung on to that belief through his freshman year of high school, but when he got involved in a Christian short-film competition his sophomore year, his passion for making movies was ignited.

“That first competition really set me on fire to the power that media and video has,” McClintock said. “It was really exciting to be involved in that.”

McClintock followed his love of film to Ohio State and graduated with a bachelor of science in business administration in June 2012.

Describing himself as the type to “get really excited about things really quickly,” McClintock sought to assemble his very own production team and went on to attempt his first short film in high school, called “The Last Word.”

McClintock compared the plot of “The Last Word” to “The Book of Eli,” and said although the movie was never edited and put together, all of the filming was done and he created a trailer for it, which is available to view online.

With high hopes of getting his work recognized, he was met with disappointment. His movie flopped.

But instead of dwelling on the failure of his movie, McClintock went on to produce more films and started his own Columbus-based production company in 2010 called Grace and Peace Productions.

His streak of unsuccessful films came to an end in November of that year when McClintock decided to compete in one of the world’s largest student film festivals, Campus MovieFest, and took home Campus Best Drama for his short film “Spare Change.”

“Campus MovieFest is an amazing platform,” McClintock said. “The way they handled everything and the opportunities they provided is just, it’s amazing.”

This year McClintock’s movie “Power to Kill” took things a step further, being recognized as a top 25 nominee for Best Picture at Campus MovieFest in Hollywood. It was also nominated for Best Actor, Best Cinematography and Golden Tripod Award on the international level.

McClintock said his passion is to make movies with meaningful stories behind them.

“My motto is make movies that don’t just entertain people and earn money, but also seek to really inspire, educate and motivate,” McClintock said. “The true power that making narrative, artistic movies in whole comes from making it real.”

Having spearheaded the writing and directing sides of “Power to Kill,” McClintock said his movie was the embodiment of what he hopes to showcase in all his work.

The 3-minute short centers on a man imagining himself being killed with a gun.

“It’s a story that seeks to not take a side, it’s not for gun control,” McClintock said. “It’s simply stating that as humans, we need to realize the power that weapons hold.”

Matt Maynard, co-founder of Grace and Peace Productions and one of McClintock’s best friends, said he was convinced since McClintock began pursuing filmmaking that he had a “thing” for the industry.

“Right when I met him, he was doing little videos for the local library. And he would use the old pinnacle studio to be editing off of,” Maynard said. “He’d use his parents’ little digital camera to film everything.”

Maynard described his best friend as someone who never gives up on what he believes in. He said once McClintock starts working on a project, he gives it his all.

“He literally is the most strong-willed person I know,” he said. “And that translates to filmmaking really well because he’s really got to drive and make things happen.”

Aubry Vonck, a fourth-year in English and the president of Ohio Union Television, which McClintock was involved with, reiterated Maynard’s reflection of McClintock.

“Passionate is the No. 1 word to describe Jack,” Vonck said.

She also said McClintock’s dedication to film production is what sets him apart from other filmmakers, which is why “he’s really good at what he does.”

McClintock spent a total of 150 hours preparing and producing his award winning short film “Power to Kill” with his team of nine OSU students.

“There’s a lot of pre production that has to goes into that,” he explained. “You have to think about every little detail,everything that could go wrong. And just to come up with the location because we can’t just storm in.”

McClintock said he’s honored with the success of “Power to Kill.”

“It’s amazing, God is good. I mean, it’s amazing to watch the timing of it for me, because I just graduated,” he said. “This is something I always wanted to pursue and I’m still pursuing.”

In the meantime, McClintock is working on “high-profiled” projects in Columbus, and he said due to contractual agreements, he could not disclose details of the projects.

Despite gaining publicity for his work, McClintock said he only plans to leave the city he got his start in if opportunities arise for him to gain more film experience.

“I would hope that within the next five years I will gain that experience and be a part of (a) couple large projects, then bring that information and the networks back to Columbus … to expand the film community here,” McClintock said.