My client Janovich just dropped a beautifully animated, dark fan film within the 40K Warhammer series that I had the pleasure of scoring:
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With an animation as high-quality as this, I prefer subtle underscore in the same way I might score a live action film. Let the picture breathe, stay out of the way of major sound design (like the explosion at the end), and most importantly: don't get melodramatic.
I kept my palette limited—brass, strings, male choir, and synths (primarily Zebra). I also didn't focus on any major thematic development as the film's only got 2-3 minutes of music, but there is a little D-E-F-G-F-E-G-D you can hear periodically as a motif just to glue things together.
Janovich and I opted to fade the music out when the Vrak pulls out the binoculars soas to let the scene play out without indicating any emotions, then come back in after the explosion. I think that was a wise choice, as directors can sometimes over-rely on music to reinfuse interest in a project that's grown stale for them.
This was a pleasure to be a part of, and I hope you enjoy listening. 🎶
—Zach