NEWS

Allen movie club releases final product

Sara Nealeigh
Reporter

CHILLICOTHE – Students at Allen Elementary School were given a unique opportunity to star and create their own movie.

A group of second-, third-, and fourth-grade students worked together to create “Atlas and the Raid for Power.”

Before coming to Allen Elementary, movie club founder Marcus McKillip worked at a charter school.

“We did a film fest there, and when many students I had there ended up coming to Allen, they requested to start the movie club up again, so I did,” McKillip said.

In the movie club, students not only starred in the film but also created the ideas and wrote their own lines.

“Film making can teach many different things, including teamwork, leadership, and self-expression. It allows kids to grow creatively while also building self esteem and a sense of accomplishment. Plus, it’s a lot of fun,” McKillip said.

To save time, McKillip did most of the editing himself, but he had a bit of help from a special student. McKillip’s daughter, Taylor, plays a spy in the movie and had some input in the home editing process.

“It was fun working with my dad,” Taylor McKillip said.

For Taylor, one of the best parts of working on the movie was filming scenes inside an Ohio University-Chillicothe biology lab.

“Allen is a really good school. All the teachers and staff, (Allen Principal Joanna) Bradley and (Superintendent Jon) Saxton were great about letting us do this,” McKillip said. “Heath Good, a substitute teacher at Allen, has been helping as well.”

The students gathered last Thursday to see the completed version of the project they had worked on all year. Now that the students have enjoyed it, the film is available online for the community to view.

The full 20-minute movie can be found on the club’s website, allenmovieclub.com.