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Devon Mathis

Director of Photography

The Row

Narrative Short

Director of Photography Devon Mathis
Director Lauren Elise
Camera Red Komodo X
Lenses Zeiss CP.3
Location Los Angeles, CA
Year 2024
A woman drinks from a glass soda bottle under station lights — still from The Row
A woman sits alone on colorful painted steps at night — still from The Row
Profile close-up under strings of bokeh lights at night — still from The Row
Backlit portrait in a ball cap at night — still from The Row
Profile portrait in warm interior light — still from The Row
Industrial building exterior at dusk with string lights — still from The Row
A woman looks off amid city lights at night — still from The Row
Paper lanterns strung above a patio at dusk — still from The Row
The Row — still
The Row — still
The Row — still
The Row — still
Director of Photography Devon Mathis
Director Lauren Elise
Camera Red Komodo X
Lenses Zeiss CP.3
Location Los Angeles, CA
Year 2024

A young woman gives up everything for a shot at the creative life she was promised — and finds only rejection, isolation, and a version of herself she barely recognizes staring back.

Behind the Lens

As Director of Photography, I collaborated with director Lauren Elise on "The Row," shot on location just outside downtown Los Angeles. The film follows a young woman who leaves her small town behind to chase a bigger life in the city, only to discover that the dream she'd been promised isn't as simple as it looked from a distance. Raised on the idea that fortune favors the bold, she has to reckon with what happens when boldness alone isn't enough — and keep going anyway. It's a story of self-discovery, of failing forward, and of a hard-won kind of arrival.

Lauren wanted the camera to feel like it was living inside that journey with her, so we built the film around a real, visceral handheld approach — present in the room, a little unsteady, always moving with our protagonist rather than observing her from a distance. We shot on the Red Komodo X paired with Zeiss CP.3 lenses, chasing a warm, nostalgic tone that carries that specific ache of youthful yearning: the feeling of wanting something bigger than yourself and not yet knowing what it will cost you.

Our biggest visual touchstones were La La Land and John Carney's Once — not just for how they looked, but for how they told their stories through movement and music, letting the camera breathe with the characters instead of dictating to them. We leaned on that same instinct throughout "The Row," trusting handheld imperfection and naturalistic light to carry the emotion, so the city itself becomes part of her journey — beautiful, indifferent, and alive.

The Row | Narrative Short
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