Check Out David L. Rivera’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to David L. Rivera.

Hi David L., so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
After a few years of volunteer work on student films and indie projects as well as producing my own personal projects, I finally achieved my first measurable breakthrough in 2012, a year after graduating film school, as an in-house cinematographer. Since 2012, I’ve been working diligently, improving my craft, resources, portfolio, client base, and resources. Now in late 2026, I’m an award winning editor, cinematographer, and director and have had the pleasure of working on everything from food, to fitness, fashion, automotive, commercial, documentaries, and narrative. Filmmaking has been my full-time profession for over a decade, so in a very real sense (despite the scale) I would say I’m living my dream.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not smooth whatsoever, with events like strikes, economic recessions and even a global pandemic, my personal inner strength, my nerve, my bank account, and my career have really been tested to their limits, but I’m still here, and will continue to be for as long as I can.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My filmmaking encompasses a wide range of genres and projects like music videos, commercials, and interviews, but my true passion is narrative storytelling. In 2024 I wrote and directed a horror short film which performed relatively well at film festivals over the course of 2025 and early 2026. Now I’m hard at work developing and getting my next project off the ground: a science-fiction “car film” inspired by the innovative work from Guy Ritchie in the early 2000’s on behalf of BMW. Think of a beautiful jewel/art thief like Catwoman doing contract jobs for the mafia while driving KITT from the TV show Knight Rider. I’ll leave it there!

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
My friends, family, travel, discovering good music, and the memories of my beloved dog.

Pricing:

• $900 for a full day of cinematography/directing

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/driven_films/
• Other: https://vimeo.com/drivenfilms