When you’re one of a hundred capable animation studios hunting for the next gig, cracking open the right door can mean everything. A promo piece like this one, from Austin-based Powerhouse Animation, has maximum door-cracking power.

The video is actually customizable, but the generic one above is perhaps even cooler. Regardless, you can see how Cold Hard Flash was dynamically inserted into the piece over on the powerhouseanimation.com site.

Over at Cartoon Brew, you may have spotted the recent trailer for Epic Mickey the Wii new gaming title produced by Junction Point Studios. The 2D cinematics in the game were produced by Powerhouse Animation, who also produced the new Risk: Factions game we highlighted yesterday. Busy month for Powerhouse! The game is due for release in December 2010. Here’s a short look at one of the cinematics, which don’t appear to include a great deal of animation or elaborate lip-sync, but the layouts and models look great.

Risk: Factions, the latest video game version of the board game, launches today on Xbox LIVE Arcade. It was produced by EA and Stainless Games, but the cinematics were produced by Powerhouse Animation. I had a hand in that pairing last year, so you might see my name zip by in the credits. Here’s one of the cinematic chapters:

The team at Powerhouse Animation have confirmed what we all know… computers have taken all the hard work out of the process. Since the advent of the “animate” button, it’s all a long lunches and short weeks! I wish. This new Flash-animated short How Powerhouse Works takes a tongue in cheek look at the process:

I am one of the many poor souls who rely immensely on the hot, brown elixir known as coffee. A recent Flash-animated Dilbert short illustrates just how important coffee is to a thriving office. Check out the original comic strip this was based on here. Animation by Powerhouse Animation.