I have been using the method of locking the exposure via shot transition and panning and tilting because it seems like no matter what I do Auto Exposure is always on I'm just curious as to what todo.

On the left side of the camera, at the bottom and near the back, check that the Auto/Man switch is in the middle (for manual). Gain, shutter speed and iris will all have to be selected manually as well.

Mark's right - you have to see the shutter speed, the gain and the aperture all displayed on screen for the exposure to be locked down.