Small-screen superlatives

MOVIES made strictly for release on DVD often lack the deep pockets and notoriety of their feature big brothers, so the directors, writers, cinematographers and other craftspeople who work on these DVD “premiere” films in the medium are called upon to use their imaginations to stretch their resources. The DVD industry honors its creative talents annually with the DVD Exclusive awards, and the four winners below offer a glimpse into the workings and challenges of the medium.

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DUANE LOOSE, Visual effects

Movie: “Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru-Nui” (he shared credit with Feng-Yi Hsiao)

Age: 51

Previous credits: “Bionicle: Mask of Light,” for which he also won the DVD Exclusive Award.

The project: The CG-animated feature based on the Lego creation, says Loose, “is a distant cousin or a baby brother to the Pixar films, but I would put them up to [the Pixar] films any day. We do these on a shoestring, but they have to have high production values because you have very sophisticated audiences these days.”

Up next: The video game “Medal of Honor: European Assault”

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CHRIS OTSUKI, Lyricist/storyboard artist

Film: “All for One and One for All” from “Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers”

Age: 45

Previous credits: Storyboard artist on such films as “The Tigger Movie” and “The Jungle Book 2.”

The project: Originally, the film wasn’t going to have music. But the director gave Otsuki a CD of opera music to help him get the motion and timing right as he storyboarded a scene. Otsuki found a track that fit perfectly, and “when I storyboarded it, I just did the lyrics,” he says. That won him an award for best original song, and he went on to write lyrics for several others.

Up next: Storyboards for “Kronk’s New Groove.”

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BRADLEY RAYMOND, Director

Film: “The Lion King 1 1/2 “

Age: 37

Previous credits: Raymond spent most of his career in storyboards before becoming an animation director at Disney in 1996. There he’s helmed “The Hunchback of Notre Dame II,” “Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas” and “Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World.”

The project: Made-for-DVD Disney animation features, says Raymond, “have been going up in production value and quality since ‘Pocahontas.’ There’s not a lot that’s different from a feature to a direct-to-video. It is still a 65- to 70-minute movie.”

Up next: “Toy Story 3”

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CHRISTIAN SEBALDT, Cinematographer

Film: “Species III:

Unrated Edition”

Age: 46

Previous credits: “Resident Evil: Apocalypse,” “Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation,” “Richie Rich’s Christmas Wish”

The project: “ ‘Species III’ was a 26-day shoot,” Sebaldt says. “The moment we had a good take we moved on. We shot with two cameras every day, all day long. You have to be very fast. You have to be very prepared. You can’t show up and say, ‘What are we doing today?’

But I have to admit it is incredible fun.”

Up next: Feature thriller “The Dark” and “Stephen King’s ‘Desperation,’ ” an ABC miniseries.