The video I will be analyzing is Heaven by Beyonce. The motif I picked was memories. Throughout the whole video it goes back and forth between happy memories and being sad in a church or cemetery. I think that these are memories because there are so many different things going on but the one thing that is constant is the church and cemetery.  Even without listening to the lyrics you can conclude that she has lost a close friend. There are so many images of her with a friend going through so many things. The reoccurrence of memories convey that she is trying to show that she has lost a close friend and it is effecting her negatively but she also knows her friend lived a fulfilling life. Without the memories there would be no connection made with the viewer. 

The first scene I am picking is the first memory shown and unlike some other memories it is Beyonce, the friend and other friends (:42-:46). It is showing them around a bonfire, dancing and laughing. For most of the scene it is a close up shot of the friend shaking champagne. The rest of the scene is mainly showing the background of the fire and everyone laughing and having a good time. I really feel like this scene encapsulates the meaning of this video because everyone is having such a good time doing something so simple. You can just tell that they are all close and care for each other and thats why they are enjoying themselves so much, they are genuinely happy. There isn't much of a color scheme in this first scene because it is dark outside but there is the hue of the fire reflecting off of peoples face which makes me think of glowing with joy or happiness. The only other color that really stands out is the red one piece the main person is wearing and I think this person has it on because red is such a bold color so it is trying to show that that is the friend. The scene really pulls my gaze to the girl dancing with the champagne and also it focuses in on Beyonce to show how happy she is and how close her and that girl were.

Throughout the whole video there is a girl with red hair in each of the memories scenes and you can conclude that that is the friend that Beyonce has lost. They clearly make her hair red so she stands out. Not only does the red hair stand out but it is also different representing how special the friend is. Which leads me to the second memory scene that I’d like to elaborate on. It is a scene of Beyonce and the friend getting tattoos (2:26-2:30). This scene shows that the friend really pushed her to do crazy things. She helped get her out of her comfort zone. Having a friend like that is special and would be hard to lose.

The next scene that stood out to me was the scene at he wedding. Beyonce is right there with the friend at the dinner (1:51-1:56). This scene shows hoe close they are and not only how special the friend is to Beyonce but how special Beyonce is to the friend. That is the whole meaning of the video, some people areas special to others and how special people can be taken too soon. The whole video you see happy memories or you see sad present day times. You can tell they are memories because they are all with the same person and so many important life events happen. They get tattoos, the fried gets marries, Beyonce meets the friends baby, they go on a road trip, and so many other little things that they are happy to be doing. 

At the end of the video, even though it isn't a memory scene, Beyonce is walking toward the camera in a cemetery and you see the sun in the background (3:18-3:24). You can gather from this scene that she is visiting her friends grave. Even though you can tell she is sad and the colors are the gaze is still pulled to the background. The sun is in the background and it really stands out because it is contracting everything else. When I see it, it seems to represent the friend being there in spirit, shinning over her. Brightening up her life even while she's gone, just as she did when she was alive. This scene really gave me an idea to what the whole video is really about. 

The video is so contradicting, there are so many scenes of happy times and scenes of sad times. Another idea that had crossed my mind about this video is that all the things that they are doing are part of  something like a bucket list. She completed all of her goals in her life and even though she died young she had such a fulfilling life and that is why the video isn’t sad the whole time. She is trying to get across that even though the friend was taken too soon she did so much and made so many people happy. Overall this video has so much meaning and transcends so many emotions. The memories throughout the video is really what connects the viewer to the video and helps the viewer understand the meaning even without hearing the lyrics.  