We won't go so far as to say that MovieReshape's human reshaping algorithm is the coolest thing we've ever seen, but it's pretty damn nifty. By crunching numbers obtained from a bunch of 3D models, MoveReshape is able to change people's on-screen attributes, making actors appear more muscular or taller, to name just two.

"The approach is based on a morphable model of 3D human shape and pose that was learned from laser scans of real people," MovieReshape's developers explain. "The algorithm commences by spatio-temporarily fitting the pose and shape of this model to the actor in either single-view or multi-view video footage. Once the model has been fitted, semantically meaningful attributes of body shape, such as height, weight, or waist girth, can be interactively modified by the user. The changed proportions of the virtual human model are then applied to the actor in all video frames by performing an image-based warping."

Sounds geeky enough, but you really have to see the algorithm in action to appreciate what's going on. Carve out about three and a half minutes of your time and hit the play button below. You'll be glad you did.

YouTube, in an effort to continue expanding as a media hub for more than just low quality, user-made content, is trying to hash out a deal with Sony Pictures to secure licensing rights to some of the studio's full-length movies, CNet reports. Such a deal would help YouTube better compete with the likes Hulu, Netflix, and other web video services.

It was just a week ago that YouTube was able to license short-form content from Disney, which also includes Disney brands like ABC and ESPN. But when it comes to feature-length content -- a crucial component if YouTube is to compete with other streaming services -- YouTube has only been able to snag a small number of titles from MGM.

Neither company is commenting on the report, but it's not hard to see why each one would be interested. Sony Pictures acquired streaming video site Crackle in 2006 for a cool $65 million and has since posted a bevy of full-length films on the site. By licensing a handful of flicks to YouTube, Sony would be promoting its Crackle acquistion. And of course it makes sense for YouTube, which was acquired by Google for $1.65 billion three years ago.

Do you think is a good move for either company? Hit the jump and sound off.