Vedant Dave Appointed Director of Photography for Dual-Format Series 'Rivals to Lovers'

The appointment of Vedant Dave as Director of Photography for the premium television series 'Rivals to Lovers' represents a strategic move in the evolving landscape of global content distribution. This dual-format project, directed by Erik Lu and produced by Karpit Patel, is positioned to redefine visual storytelling standards when production begins in early 2027.

What makes this production particularly significant is its innovative approach to format compatibility. The series will be captured simultaneously in both horizontal (16:9) and vertical (9:16) formats, designed to serve traditional global streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ while also catering to mobile-first vertical platforms dominating Asian markets such as Tencent, iQIYI, and Youku. This dual-capture strategy represents a first-of-its-kind endeavor in long-form television production, potentially establishing new industry standards for cross-platform content creation.

Dave's role extends beyond traditional cinematography responsibilities. He will lead the visual development across both capture formats, ensuring aesthetic consistency and emotional resonance regardless of screen orientation or platform. His technical approach involves working with multi-camera setups including the ARRI Alexa 35 for cinematic visuals and the Sony FX3 for mobile-oriented framing, creating a visual world that balances corporate precision with character-driven vulnerability.

Director Erik Lu emphasized the significance of Dave's appointment, stating that the series is built around contrast between love and rivalry, intimacy and ambition, and big-screen spectacle versus mobile immediacy. Dave's mastery of light and visual tone positions him as the ideal collaborator for this ambitious project, ensuring the series resonates with audiences across different viewing platforms and cultural contexts.

The production's technical innovation extends to post-production, where parallel editing workflows will shape both horizontal and vertical versions concurrently. Dave will supervise this process to preserve performance nuance and visual coherence across formats, employing modern color palettes, reflective surfaces, and evolving visual motifs that mirror the protagonists' power struggles and emotional arcs.

Filming will take place in iconic Los Angeles and San Francisco locations, with Dave supervising lighting design, lens aesthetics, and camera movement for both the grand scale of Silicon Valley innovation and the emotional subtleties of romantic drama. The series follows Ananya, a bold entrepreneur in the tech-fashion world, and Daniel, a charismatic but ruthless CEO of a competing startup, as their professional rivalry evolves into an emotionally charged relationship.

Production for Rivals to Lovers runs from January 16, 2027, through January 23, 2028, with post-production concluding in early 2028. The series is positioned as a flagship cross-market production, built to engage both Western premium streaming audiences and the rapidly expanding Asian serialized drama landscape. Descendant Films, led by Erik Lu, continues to push boundaries of cinematic storytelling for global markets, with prior collaborations spanning the United States and Asia.

This project's importance extends beyond its narrative content to its potential impact on industry production standards. As streaming platforms continue to fragment and mobile viewing becomes increasingly dominant, the dual-format approach pioneered by Rivals to Lovers could establish new templates for content creation that maximize global reach while maintaining artistic integrity. The series aims not only to tell a compelling story of love born from rivalry but also to set a new benchmark for multi-format global storytelling that other productions may follow.