How do I get this type of falling shot?

[ironpony]

I want to practice doing shots for a future project, of a person falling from a building. I will use dummies of course. But I have been practicing panning up to down with the camera, trying to follow an imaginary falling person, but the pans do not look right. They look forced instead of natural. I was told that a fluid head tripod is the best for the smoothest pans, but if I go real fast, to follow a would be falling person, the pan just looks forced and unnatural. Am I using the wrong equipment or still just panning it wrong? Thanks.

[Alex H.]

Exactly where is the camera, and how are you framing? Is it at a distance? Wide shot? Medium shot?

And I'm not sure you're trying to pan (again... that depends on where the camera is and how it is framed). Tilt and pan are two different things, but a good, fluid head is a must. If, indeed, you are trying to tilt down to follow the fall, loosen the tension on the tilt to the point that the camera drags itself down. Use pressure on the handle to counteract, and let the camera "fall" with the shot.

[Bern Caughey]

On a side note, digital cameras have a time delay between the light hitting the sensor, & the image being displayed on a monitor. This is particularly noticible when connected to an external monitor, & can add up to a be few frames off. Some cameras are better than others, with the ENG(s), & broadcast monitors, typically having the least latency.

For most uses this isn't much of an issue, but can be problematic when framing fast moving subjects

[deltoidjohn]

One important thing to consider is the lens-to-subject distance. The further away you are, the shorter and more precise the tilt will need to be. If you are shooting from right at the base of the building, you will be tilting the camera nearly 180 degrees. If you are shooting from the other end of the road, you might only need to tilt the camera 15 degrees to cover the length of the fall. Of course, which option you choose will also have a dramatic effect on the composition and the background relative to the subject.

[ironpony]

Okay thanks. This will be a medium to close up shot actually of the fall, which of course makes it trickier. I thought maybe it was just the tripod itself and maybe I should be using a jib or something.

[kennedymax]

I don't understand how a pan or tilt can look "forced" in practice with no subject to follow. A pan, or tilt, is influenced by the action of the subject and mood of the scene. It is either used to follow action, to reviel something or to go from one subject to another. The camera move can be affected by perspective (POV of a pedestrian, following actor in fall, from above, beneath, from afar, head-on, profile, CU, MED, LS), the mood of the scene (frantic, passive, slo-mo, etc., day, night). . . all factors are affected by the scene's desired action and mood. You can shoot this shot locked down, hand held, with multiple CU or MCU "swish" pans through the fall along with reaction shots, etc.
A fluid head, thought, is an essential tool for high quality, controlled production. Practice your cinematic skills as deliberate moves, subject to mood and action . . . and intuition will compliment your skills and feel in the shoot.

[RickyC]

Just asking if you need a fluid head is already a sign you're doing it wrong. You'll need a fluid head on 99% shots you want, and thats not including steadicams, jibs (with remote heads) or locked off car mounts.

If you could explain the shot a little bit more we could help, I'm still unsure of where the camera is located