When done right, stop motion films can be some of the coolest videos around. Canada-based Dumais Studio and Full Serve Productions recently released The Long Haul, an animated short film created with 4,000 still photographs. Check it out:

According to the production house,

The concept was to show the stages of an evolving relationship and the passing of trends, focusing on sending a message that,in the end, a good relationship lasts. The pivotal point was to communicate our interest in developing long standing relationships with our clients and that weʼre not just a flash in the pan.

Cheers to that!

The latest short film from London Squared Productions is a beautiful meditation on the people of New York. These glimpses of life in the city are told with the sensibility of an audio slideshow but made unique with subtle animation. Enjoy:

Blimps, polygraph landscapes and head-nodding beats - all in a day’s work for the creator of Dabrye’s video for “Smoking the Edge” off his album One/Three. It’s a few years old but deserves some recognition.

If you think you’ve seen all the wackiness possible on YouTube, brace yourself. All I can say is a certain Thorn2200 has created stop motion animation with Legos that enact the jokes of comedian Eddie Izzard.

So, for those of you who are freezing in the colder parts of the globe this winter, this is definitely the nerdy comedy to keep your spirits up. Behold, the animation of Eddie Izzard’s ‘death star canteen’:

NARAL Pro-Choice America’s new free.will.power initiative is definitely one of the most innovative and creative campaigns to come out of the pro-choice movement. In an effort to reach out to a new generation of activists, NARAL has turned to web video and social-networking to spread awareness of reproductive rights. And they’re doing it with STYLE.

The campaign has released three videos featuring young spoken word artists Shira Erlichmann, Alvin Lau and Deja Taylor as well as music by DJ Spooky. The free.will.power website also features a quiz, interactive map and t-shirt contest (winning prize is a 1,000 bucks people!)

The thing I like about the videos is that they all go together but each have a different flavor:

Free.

Will.

Power.

I’ve always had this strange idea that urban centers are like gigantic coral reefs for humans. Don’t ask me why. So this music video for the song “Reef” by Baby Kites & Nokea stood out with its surreal urban landscapes. It was directed by PanOptic out of New York.

In the spirit of the Girl Effect , the Obama campaign has released this cool video to accompany their Obama Tax Calculator.

Calculate YOUR taxcut!

As an enthusiastic fan of the McGlaughlin Group, I can’t help but find this clip charming and amusing. According to the YouTube description, public radio’s Faith Salie asked rock star Andrew WK to put the McLaughlin Group to music; and these are the results! The very cool animation is done by Scott Bateman of Salon.com’s Video Dog series.

Project 10^1000 is a call for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible. Not only that but winners of the project will receive cash money toward making those ideas a reality!

From the website:

If you have an idea that you believe would help somebody, we want to hear about it. We’re looking for ideas that help as many people as possible, in any way, and we’re committing the funding to launch them. You can submit your ideas and help vote on ideas from others. Final idea selections will be made by an advisory board.

So kids, get those thinking caps on and submit your ideas to Project 10^100.

Unsuccessful Job Application Video by Orange Raisin (otherwise known as Michael A. Charles), is a hilarious poke at the arts industry and the people who want to be a part of it. It’s also a brilliant ploy to bring attention to his band Sea Water Bliss which does in fact appear to be a real despite their slogan, “At first you might think it’s children’s music, but then you listen more closely and realize it’s not meant for children at all.” Listen to them here.