/3/ - 3DCG

I've decided to make a feature film with some online friends on a digital backlot without any experience, and I'm really obsessed with crane shots; especially the kind where you start with an establishing shot, then smoothly pan or zoom down to your talent. Can someone explain how or post links to how you do it? The real camera is stationary, so I don't really know how to do the transition. I've seen motion tracking tutorials showing this done, but this particular one didn't go into enough detail for me to understand. Something about UV mapping the tracked footage???
https://youtu.be/RxD6H3ri8RI
Around the 2-minute mark.
pic unrelated.