As a matter of fact, my colleague and I were talking about this physics phenomenon yesterday. My understanding of what you are trying to accomplish is getting a blurred background with the subject looking at the camera. I’m asking about the .jpg issue today) my quick tests of the two situations 1) Subject holding camera close and pivoting on his or herself. 2) Subject further from camera, both pivoting at the camera point.
In situation 1) the background moves less quickly and felt more jerky. In situation 2) the background moves faster and up/down shifts were less apparent. So in short, I believe you are right, using the rope to increase the distance between the camera and the background is ultimately going to give you a faster spinning background.
Hopefully you’ve got your question answered, please post your findings if you find out more.
