Even though it's only been a couple of weeks, folks have been itching to know what, if anything, happened to Eat My Shorts. Did the column disappear? Did Cinematical stop caring about short films? Did Erik get hungry and somehow manage to literally eat all of the shorts? (While the last one seems ridiculous, trust me -- with my appetite, anything is possible.) No. No. And, um, no.

However, I have been hella busy covering the 44th Annual New York Film Festival for Cinematical. In doing so, there wasn't a lot of spare time for me to utilize to scour the internet in search of some fantastic material. I know, my time management skills kind of suck. (I still can't figure out why it takes me two hours to put on a pair of socks, but let's come back to that when the subject is appropriate.) While attending the fest, I was able to catch some really cool short films. As I sat in the darkened theater surrounded by my fellow critics, I couldn't help but hope and pray that some of those shorts were available online. And, to my surprise, they are!

New York magazine was cool enough to stream five of the short films featured at this year's New York Film Festival online for all to see. Thankfully, my favorite one is included. Before we check those out, I want you to keep your eyes open for any Halloween-related shorts online; next week, we're going to delve into that arena and before I start doing my own research, I'd like to hear from you, the audience. As always, feel free to send all links, tips and suggestions regarding Eat My Shorts to shorts AT cinematical DOT com. Okay, let's go check out some NYFF shorts ...

Argh, I totally dropped the ball last week and forgot to tell you about a really cool thing TCM (Turner Classic Movies) was throwing together. Throughout the month of September, TCM is partnering with Hermès and paying tribute to short films with a festival titled Behind the Camera: The Shorts Circuit. For those interested in checking out some of these shorts, TCM will mix them into their on-air schedule, throw a few online and host various premiere events around the country.

Okay, so if there's still some time left in September, then how exactly did I drop the ball? Well, this past friday TCM aired a slew of shorts (24 hours worth to be exact) ... and I forgot to tell you about it. Kill me now! Hopefully some of you managed to catch a few, it really was a special event. If it wasn't for a friend of mine (who, at the last second decided to use my DVR to record about five hours worth), I would have missed the entire thing. Instead, we were able to catch a bunch of shorts directed by folks like Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick.

However, TCM did throw a few shorts online and we'll check those out in a second. But first, I want to thank all of you for tipping me off on some wonderful short films. I promise to include a few of them in the next edition of Eat My Shorts. As always, if you happen upon a sweeet looking short online and think it would be perfect Eat My Shorts content, then feel free to send all tips, links and suggestions to shorts AT cinematical DOT com. With that, let's go watch some shorts ...

With James, Martha and Kim doing a fabulous job covering the Toronto International Film Festival, I figured we would focus strictly on Canadian films this week on Eat My Shorts. Sure, Canada seems to get a bad rap (especially from those South Park boys), but it hasn't stopped them from producing some outstanding shorts over the years.

While browsing around the internet recently, I noticed (via Boing Boing) that The National Film Board of Canada has put 50 of its greatest animated shorts online for all to see. And yes, for free! With a collection that spans 60 years and features 41 directors, you'll find a ton of excellent shorts, with some Oscar-nominated works thrown in.

As always, if you'd like to see a short film featured on a future edition of Eat My Shorts, simply email all links, tips and suggestions to shorts AT Cinematical DOT com. Okay, and now it's aboot time we check out some Canadian shorts, eh ...

Seeing as you'll be reading my review of Evil Aliens later this week, I figured why not stretch out the intergalactic theme and include it within this week's Eat My Shorts. I mean, who doesn't like to watch a film about aliens? They're weird, foreign and mysterious creatures that, depending upon who you ask, may or may not exist in real life. Personally, I am of the opinion that aliens are out there somewhere, waiting for just the right time to come down to earth and start their own professional ping-pong league. Heck, there's a lot of money to be made in ping-pong and I'm sure those little dudes are up there paying attention.

Life is more fun when you're a believer. If anything, one can use an alien's presence to explain missing homework, a clogged toilet or why next weekend will not be a good time for the in-laws to pay a visit. All kidding aside, we adore our aliens and love watching them up on the big screen accompanied by millions of dollars in special effects. However, aliens also play a big role in the world of short films as well. Be it animated or live-action, I'm consistently amazed by the quality of alien-related shorts online and available to watch right now ... for free.

This week, all of the following films have something do with aliens and were found rather quickly by typing in a few keywords and surfing the net. As always, if you'd like to see a particular short film featured on a future edition of Eat My Shorts, feel free to send all links, tips and suggestions to shorts AT cinematical DOT com. In the meantime, let's go watch some shorts ...

This week on Eat My Shorts, we're going to do a little something different. Instead of coming up with a theme and finding a few short films that relate to it, I figured we would talk more about the vast resources available online for people interested in creating their own shorts.

While I'm definitely no expert, I've been involved in the making of a few short films and I'd like to offer this as my first piece of advice: Don't waste money on stupid things. Budget isn't everything. Lighting is a nice touch, but it's nowhere near as important as, say, your story and cast. Another key aspect in filmmaking is coverage. As defined by Wikipedia: "Camera coverage, in filmmaking, is the amount of film footage shot and different camera setups used in filming a scene. When editing, the more coverage shot means that there is more footage the editor can work with in assembling the final cut." Trust me on this one folks -- coverage is everything. Shoot the crap out of your film. In the end, while your day may be longer, you will be that much happier once you hit the editing room.

As always, feel free to keep sending me your shorts ... so long as I can watch them online. When it comes to a short film, any exposure is good exposure, and I'm always looking for something to watch. Please send all links, tips and suggestions to shorts AT cinematical DOT com. Okay, let's go talk some shorts ...