Who are We?
VisKopSop is a Media Production House established and run by Creative Director Morgan Ballantyne since 2018
She studied Journalism and Media at UFS. After freelancing with radio stations and newspapers realised she wanted to expanded her media knowledge and specialised in BA Motion Picture Medium with multiple subjects mainly Cinematography and Screenwriting, supplemented by Colour Grading and DIT. She graduated in 2017.
After Varsity, Morgan qualified for a Film Internship with Reel Partners in conjunction with Orange Films, supplemented by the Dept. Arts and Culture in South-Africa. During this time she earned her grunt-work badge shooting many Bat-Mitvah's, Birthdays and Clubs before scoring a great job with Real Meal Revolution and Jonno Proudfoot as the Internal Content Creator and Marketing Manager. This is where Morgan's journey into Digital Marketing began as well as a deeper understanding of Film in Advertising and Post Production.
After 2 Years with Jonno and the Team she broke away to start her own Production House- VisKopSop. The name is inspired by her time in the Kitchen and shooting food vids. There is always a basic recipe to soup, it can be served in the most expensive kitchens or the most budget stricken of homes, filmmaking is the same. It just depends what ingredients you use, but the recipe is tried and tested.
During this time Morgan worked on a Film Sets around Cape Town as a Production Assistant, Script Supervisor and Camera Assistant. She also started her Documentary Filmmaking journey which is where her love and curiosity in Journalism and practicality and far reaching medium of Film collide.
In 2019 Morgan and VisKopSop worked in-house for prominent South African Filmmakers Donna-Lee Robbertse and Ivan Botha at 17 Films and their boutique, The Romantic Collective. This was a first-hand look at how some of the Great's in our Industry navigate Content Creation, Script Writing and Film Funding.
In 2020 Morgan moved up to Johannesburg to be with family during the Pandemic and has since leaned more heavily into Artistic and Portrait Photography, Long Form Script Writing and Documentary making as well as Music Videos and levelled up Social Media Content Creation.
She has shot content for Fila, Spur and has worked with some local designers.
In 2021 she got a Diploma in Digital Marketing Strategy from UCT and placed in the Top 60 for the Silwerskerm Short Film Competition.
Morgan is madly in-love with her career and looks forward to the weird and wonderful places her camera will take her next. She understand the full picture of Pre-, on set and Post- Production and how that affects Marketing and Sales trends. She is always open for an Adventure behind the lens and enjoys conceptual and cheeky work. Morgan's filmmaking style leans toward dark-humour, abstract concepts and anything with heart and soul. She writes, shoots and edit's most of her own work but is always keen to take on singular roles on other productions.
"If you get people laughing you can talk about something serious, people always listen if you can make them laugh. It's disarming, so let's laugh together so we can cry together. But I promise, we will laugh again later"
-Morgan Ballantyne
Morgan is fluent in English and Afrikaans- she is from an English family but predominantly went to an Afrikaans High School. She is also sharpening up her Zulu skills and is keen to work on projects of any language.