The Beginning:
It is impossible to discuss the origins of Paperclip Films without first describing the early friendship between two young homeschoolers: Gary Gasse and Jonathan Mullen. The first meeting between these two characters took place at a homeschool science fair. Gary Gasse, a boundless dreamer, was showing off his homemade hovercraft to a gathering of children and pre-teens. An ingenious blend of plywood, duct-tape, and a vacuum motor, Gary’s creation was easily the most impressive of all the science experiments. After a few minutes of administering hovercraft rides, Gary announced that the fun would cease for 15 minutes, as the motor needed to cool. As the crowd dispersed, Gary was confused to see a lone figure who had neglected to leave with his peers. This lone figure was Jonathan Mullen.
When Jonathan Mullen heard there would be a hovercraft demonstration, he quickly left his vinegar powered LEDs to see the spectacle. He was amazed as Gary pushed children around on his homemade vehicle. He could not wait until it was his turn to ride. When Gary announced a 15 minute break, Jonathan devised a plan. He would wait by the hovercraft for 15 minutes so he would be the first in line when rides began again.
Gary: “Um, we’re taking a 15 minute break.”
Jonathan: “I know, I’m just waiting so I can be first in line.”
The world would never be the same.
As their friendship grew, Jonathan learned that Gary made movies in his spare time. After watching some of Gary’s Star Wars fan films, Jonathan was hooked. That Christmas, with help from his relatives, Jonathan purchased a camera and began making movies of his own.
When they were 14, Gary and Jonathan began attending the same youth group. At one infamous youth group meeting, a game of Catch-Phrase, in which players urged teammates to guess a random word without using it, was initiated. In the middle of a particularly vigorous round, Jonathan Mullen received the word “Paperclip.” Quickly, Jonathan blurted out “Microsoft Word Office assistant!” No one made the connection and Jonathan’s team lost the round; however, this incident inspired one of the girls who was present to christen Jonathan “Clippy.”The nickname stuck, giving Jonathan/Clippy the unofficial role of Youth Group mascot. In 2005, Jonathan Mullen inadvertently founded Paperclip Films when he began making weekly videos for his Youth Group. A tremendous task, Jonathan created many such videos over the next three years.
As time went on, Jonathan used the tag “Paperclip Films” at the end of all his projects. On March 26, 2007 Jonathan bit the bullet and signed up for a YouTube channel. The first video posted there was an absurd western, starring Jonathan Mullen as a heroic cowboy and Gary Gasse as a kind monk as well as the villainous villain, Black-Hearted-Bubba.
It would be some time before Paperclip Films became more than an unknown YouTube channel. For over a year, Paperclip Films was all but forgotten. During this time, Jonathan and his family took over a video business with an office. This would be important to Paperclip Films’ future. Also of importance, but seemingly insignificant at the time, Gary entered a video contest. The video entered was an
amusing montage of Gary, dressed as a tea-touting super hero, describing the many health benefits of tea. Jonathan and Gary embarked on an all out promotional blitz for this video, posting links to it all over Facebook, on tea related forums, and emailing it to all their friends. Gary did not win the contest, but he and Jonathan did succeed in garnering 1,000 views for their video in about four days.
amusing montage of Gary, dressed as a tea-touting super hero, describing the many health benefits of tea. Jonathan and Gary embarked on an all out promotional blitz for this video, posting links to it all over Facebook, on tea related forums, and emailing it to all their friends. Gary did not win the contest, but he and Jonathan did succeed in garnering 1,000 views for their video in about four days.
Fast forward to November of 2008. It is time to introduce the pivotal character in the Paperclip Films saga. Grant W. Gasse, Gary’s little brother. Grant was a jovial teenager, full of energy and possessing an intelligent, yet cheery, wit. Jonathan Mullen often tells people “Gary and I tried for years to come up with something funny, but it wasn’t till Grant came along that we actually succeeded.”
One cold November night, Gary and Grant were at home. Grant declared that he was bored. The next day, Gary and Grant made the 45 minute drive to Jonathan’s office. They decided it would be fun to make a movie. They began trying to come up with an idea. Gary thought it would be amusing to spoof the melodramatic dramas seen on broadcast television at prime time. All three wanted to make something involving homeschoolers. They thought and debated about it for a time. Suddenly, Jon exclaimed “Grant gets IMed by a girl and freaks out!” Immediately filming began. That night, the trio created a video named Anti-Social. Using the same tactics they had on Gary's contest video, the boys managed to get a few thousand views in a short time. Over the next few months, they turned Anti-Social into a seven part series. “We will always remain Anti-Social” the last line of the series went.
But Anti-Social the three did not remain. The series was somewhat of a success among homeschoolers and was picked up by many a homeschool blog. When all was said and done, Gary, Grant, and Jonathan found themselves with over 400 subscribers to their YouTube channel and over 800 members of a “Fans of Anti-Social” Facebook group. They continued posting other funny videos on Paperclip Films after this.
Present Day (Fall 2010):
Gary, Grant, and Jonathan of Paperclip Films have dedicated themselves to producing weekly comedy videos. With a Facebook Page, Twitter, and a small following, Paperclip Films is poised to make trillions of people laugh by producing Academy Award winning YouTube videos!
