Goodwins Theory Analysis

Genre Characteristics: The video shows the artist (Beyonce) with dancers in a studio performing a dance routine and singing into a microphone. The majority of the video uses high key lighting which connotes the "feel good factor" that a lot of Pop music demonstrates even though Beyonce is generically an R&B artist. This particular song has an up tempo beat and the lyrics are light-hearted and set a positive tone which once again suggests that this is one of Beyonce's more Pop based tracks which  has been directed and story-boarded to become conventional for that specific genre. 

Like most Pop videos, there are also dancers present throughout which are found somewhere in most music videos - however, something that I'd say is unconventional to her typical R&B genre is that even though Beyonce is dressed in a figure hugging leotard (which conveys to her R&B roots), the male backing dancers are supporting her opposed to the other way round, making her the main attraction of the video and focuses our attention as viewers on Beyonce.
The video also uses many close-ups which again is a convention of Pop. This helps Beyonce's audience read her emotions and build a closer and more intimate relationship with her, inevitably bringing the feeling of the song across in a much closer sense. 

What is the relationship between music and visuals:  While a lot of the music is quite upbeat and lively, the rhythm of the song is slow and steady. The visuals resemble this as the cuts from frame to frame become sharper when the build up to the chorus.  Also, the dancers and Beyonce perform their movements in the video in time to the music – for example, each performer turns round in time to the intro beats of the music and their dance routine mirrors the energetic music through the duration of the track. This is a visual way for the 'Love On Top' music video to highlight the feel good factor of her song.
Like most songs from most genres in general, 'Love on Top' reaches a climax for when her vocals become much stronger and more powerful, at this stage the setting of the video transforms from a rehearsal studio and the lighting goes from high-key lighting to low-key lighting, suggesting that this is perhaps now a performance, emphasizing the power behind her notes and vocals. 

What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals: The lyrics to 'Love on Top' are all about how she feels when she's around the one she loves. Lyrics like "Now everybody's asking why I'm smiling now from ear to ear", "I can see the stars all away from here" and "Baby it's you, you're the one I want" all connote that the song has a happy message and wants to translate positive vibes to their audience in order for her to share the motives of the song and give them a insight to how she feels about her relationship and the subject of the song. Since the message in the lyrics is being proud and in love, the lyrics support this in a metaphorical sense. 
At the beginning of the music video we see Beyonce practicing her singing in a rehearsal studio which has a lot of wide windows which could show how she's happy for people to take a look into what's going on and listen to the message she's giving us in her lyrics as well as expressing it visually. It also suggests that because rehearsals are usually linked with development and practice in performance terms,   Beyonce believes she's happy because of the work and practice that's been put into her relationship. 

Are there close ups of the artist and star image motifs:  Since 'Love on Top' is a performance based video there are many close ups of Beyonce's face throughout the music video. This helps her audience and viewers connect to her personal emotions more and links closer into what she wants to convey from the lyrics. With visuals and lyrics pieced together, the good vibes of the Pop genre song (which is conventional) are pushed across in a strong sense to the point where the close-ups are really giving Beyonce's perspectives and the audience feel as though they're getting to know her on a more personal level.

Intertextual Reference: None

Is it performance based, narrative based or concept based: The video is mostly performance based as it involves Beyonce performing in a studio and the audience are placed as if they’re watching on to the performance first hand which helps connote the concept of Beyonce being proud of her love for the subject of the song. It shows that she's prepared to let her audience in and give them a personal view of the stage she's in with her love-life, something that's usually kept very private by her and other artists similar to her from the public eye and the media. 

Genre in relation to the video: 

The genre of Beyonce is usually R&B but for this particular track, it could be argued that it contains elements of Pop as well. However, I'd say that the video mostly contains conventions of a Pop video as it has a very 'feel good' vibe which is typical of this genre.  Also, the lighting is very high-keyed which connotes the happiness that's portrayed in lyrics and helps support the story she's telling. 

However, this video is fully Performance based which goes against Pop conventions as their videos are usually narrative based, this brings in some of the R&B conventions as the base of videos in this genre mostly reforms to the performance side. 

But back to the conventions of Pop, we do see a lot of Beyonce and her dancers along with close ups which help the audience feel the emotion of the artist. One way this video goes against the conventions of a typical R&B video is that Beyonce seems a lot more dominant and forefront than the men who're backing dancers in the video. Whereas usually in a stereo-typical R&B video, women are usually highly sexualized and used as a feature as oppose to the main subject.