Da Fingaz Shares his Top Five Plugins for Cinematic and Trailer Music

Marcus Manderson, known professionally as DaFingaz, is a composer and educator whose work spans film, TV, trailers, live experiences, and global brand projects. He has scored feature films, created music for Disney, National Geographic, and Monster Energy, and in 2025 achieved his first Netflix trailer placement. Based in Northern Virginia, he combines cinematic sound design with storytelling to craft emotionally powerful music while sharing his expertise at events worldwide.

“I’m Marcus (@dafingaz), a music composer and producer focusing on sync and trailer music. I have music in some unique places, including museums around the world, conferences (around the world), and Disney Theme Parks.”

“Sync placements include NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, Nascar, MTV, BET, Hulu, Paramount+, Apple TV+, and more. I also have scored independent films. I host and organize panels around the world at events like NAMM, AES, SXSW and more and work on a team that hosts global writing camps (Level Up Music Productions).”

“On my channel and on social media (@dafingaz), I dive into the world of sync licensing, cinematic music, music production, and the tools that help me bring my musical ideas to life.”

“What inspires me most about cinematic and trailer music is the ability to tell huge stories with sound. Building tension, unleashing energy, or sparking emotion in just a few minutes. It’s about translating ideas into something audiences can feel. And encourage them to act (buy movie tickets, download the game, stream the show, etc).”

“And while there are endless plugins out there, I’ve learned that you don’t need hundreds to get epic results. What you really need are the right plugins. The right tools that deliver the power, flexibility, and inspiration to turn your creative vision into an unforgettable experience.”

“That’s why I’ve pulled together my Top 5 Plugins for Cinematic & Trailer Music, all available on Plugin Boutique. These are the ones I keep going back to because they balance sound design and musicality, and they give me the versatility I need whether I’m scoring dark, gritty trailers or building lush, emotional soundscapes.”

For cinematic and trailer music, the right tools can make all the difference. DaFingaz highlights five essential plugins that help him shape sweeping atmospheres, striking dynamics, and cinematic depth in his tracks. From creative sound design to precision mixing, these are the tools he turns to when building music that captivates listeners and commands the screen. For a closer look at his techniques, workflow, and creative approach, you can explore his YouTube channel, Instagram and website, where he offers behind-the-scenes insights, plugin demos, and tips for crafting music that commands attention on screen.

 

 

1. Keepforest Evolution Devastator Breakout Pro

Available now on Plugin Boutique, Devastator Breakout Pro gives you instant access to the sounds that define modern trailer, cinematic, and high-energy productions

1. Why This Plugin Is Essential for Cinematic/Trailer Music
Keepforest Evolution: Devastator Breakout Pro delivers the core sound palette of modern trailer music, acting as, what I call, the "ultimate cheat code for having that cinematic sound" in a track.

• Core Cinematic Elements: It bundles thousands of production-ready samples across all necessary categories (Hits, Rises, Downers, Braams, Tic Tocs), allowing composers to instantly access the high-impact sounds required for professional scoring.
• Workflow Acceleration: The ability to generate complex, multi-layered sounds instantly (like the single-note, 10-second intros) drastically reduces sound design time, which is critical in fast-paced production environments.
• Versatile Impact: I’ve used these sounds in underscore tension tracks for sync and they also provide a cinematic vibe to Hip-Hop and EDM, confirming its value beyond typical trailer work, making it a foundational tool for any production needing high-impact, dramatic flair.

2. How You Use It in Your Workflow
I use Devastator Breakout Pro and leverage its dynamic and rhythmic capabilities to structure my cues:
Building Tension with Pulses: I rely on Pulses to drive the Build section of a track. This is highly effective as the rhythmic loops automatically sync to my DAW's (Logic) tempo, creating forward momentum and a sense of growing energy.

• Controlling Climax with Braams: The use of Braams for the Climax, often with initial filtering, is a key cinematic technique. This allows me to gradually introduce the weight and harmonic content of the massive low-end sound, ensuring its full, unfiltered impact is saved for the cue's most dramatic moment.
• Creative Discovery with Randomization: I like the unpredictability of the Randomize feature on the Breakout Pro instrument throughout the creative process. This is a critical workflow feature because it constantly introduces elements I might not otherwise put together, preventing creative fatigue and ensuring the sounds remain unique and unexpected.
• Genre Integration: By applying the plugin's elements to non-cinematic tracks, I use the effects library (filters, saturation) to transform standard genre tracks with high-energy, dramatic textures.

3. Key Features that Make It Stand Out
The plugin stands out due to its unique combination of vast content, powerful user control, and workflow-oriented innovation:

• The Breakout Pro Engine & Randomization: This is the most defining feature. It serves as a creative assistant, generating complex, layered sounds from a single note, and the Randomize function offers endless, unique sonic starting points.
• Deep Customization: Beyond the presets, the ability to tweak the ADSR envelope, filter, and stretch mode, as well as apply up to seven different effects (reverb, delay, saturation), gives us precise control over the final texture and evolution of the sound.
• Rhythmic Control: The built-in step sequencers for Pan, Filter, and Pitch allow for the creation of complex rhythmic patterns for dynamic build sections.
• NKS Compatibility: The library is NKS compatible, providing seamless integration for users of Native Instruments hardware, speeding up browsing and mapping.

The Keepforest Evolution: Devastator Breakout Pro remains a staple in my template for epic cinematic music and finds its way onto other projects as well. I highly recommend this powerful plugin for music creators!

 

 

 

2. Heavyocity Damage 2

For the ultimate cinematic percussion toolkit, you can grab Heavyocity Damage 2 at Plugin Boutique

1. Why This Plugin Is Essential for Cinematic/Trailer Music
Heavyocity’s Damage 2 is deemed a "must-have" because it offers unparalleled dynamic range and production-ready quality for percussive layering, making it the fastest route to professional trailer percussion:

• Ultimate Dynamic Range: While famous for its aggressive, processed sound, the plugin's essential nature lies in its capacity for subtlety and nuance. This allows you to integrate sounds as early as the beginning of a track with filter options ensuring the percussive layer supports the entire emotional arc of the cue, not just the climax.
• Layering Without Conflict: The instrument is designed with sophisticated sound design that allows multiple Ensembles, Organic, and Hybrid sounds to be stacked without competing with each other. This is a major workflow advantage that results in a powerful, yet clear, final mix that cuts through dense orchestration.
• Versatile Percussive Source: I’ve used Damage 2 as the sole source for percussive needs (having composed entire cues using only its sounds), from subtle, rhythmic pulses to massive, hard-hitting booms.

2. How You Use It in Your Workflow
Your workflow maximizes the plugin's inherent flexibility and speed, focusing on dynamic control and rhythmic customization:

• Dynamic Automation for Climax: You can use controls like the Punish Knob and built-in Filters as dramatic compositional tools. By automating these parameters in your DAW (I use Logic Pro), you can strategically increase the aggressiveness of the sound over time, transforming the percussion from organic to hyper-processed as the track drives toward its climax.
• Spatial Clarity: You utilize the plugin's built-in spatial tools (pan, width, graphic visualization) to quickly position elements in the stereo field. This avoids relying on external plugins, preserving the speed of the workflow while ensuring the large Ensembles remain wide and the key Hybrid hits remain punchy.
• Custom Rhythmic Control: While high-quality Grooves exist, you can create your own patterns and accents from the sounds, with the option to layer in or filter the built-in loops. This ensures rhythmic uniqueness and precise sync with the demands of the specific track.
• Preset Speed: I rely heavily on the presets as a great starting point (especially the default Armageddon prese), often using them "out the box" with no tweaking. The sound quality and integrated velocity layers allow you to simply adjust the dynamics based on playing velocity to achieve different sonic effects.

3. Key Features that Make It Stand Out
The standout features are those that facilitate aggressive sound design and rapid workflow:

• The Punish Knob: This is the most iconic feature, providing aggressive saturation and compression. Its utility is amplified by your method of automating its intensity across the cue, making it a dynamic compositional tool rather than a static effect.
• Integrated Dynamics and Drive: Controls and the adjustable Dynamics/Velocity controls provide the necessary subtlety. They ensure that even the most processed sounds can be softened for earlier cue sections, offering essential flexibility.
• Hybrid Content: The presence of the Hybrid category allows for the creation of experimental and electronic rhythms, greatly expanding the percussive palette beyond traditional acoustic drums.
• All-in-One Engine: The comprehensive visual interface, integrated mixer, and built-in effects allow composers to achieve the final, mix-ready sound entirely within the plugin, minimizing the need for external tools and maximizing workflow speed.

For go-to percussion in a trailer cue, it doesn’t get much better than Heavyocity Damage 2!

 

 

 

3. UJAM Symphonic Elements Bundle

Find the UJAM Symphonic Elements Bundle on Plugin Boutique – perfect for composers and producers who want instant Hans Zimmer-style orchestral flair

1. Why This Plugin is Essential for Cinematic/Trailer Music
The UJAM Symphonic Elements series is essential because it is an "instant Hans Zimmer sound" generator that prioritizes speed and seamless integration over individual instrument realism. Personally, getting into the cinematic and trailer space to have access to Hans Zimmer’s sounds is a game changer. Also being a composer and producer from VA, with UJAM being co-founded by Pharrell Williams, I have a personal bias towards this company.

• Speed of Composition: The phrase- and loop-based design, combined with the Chord Selector, allows you to instantly test and implement complex harmonic and rhythmic ideas. This drastically reduces the time needed for arrangement and composition, which is critical in fast-paced trailer and sync music production.
• Dynamic Foundation: The ability to use all four modules: DRUMS, PERRCS, STRIIIINGS, and BRAAASS, to create the core rhythmic and melodic pattern means the entire foundation of a cinematic track can be laid down with premium, production-ready sounds quickly.
• Genre Versatility: I use the Symphonic Elements series to add a "cinematic flair" to Hip-Hop, Pop, and R\&B tracks. These sounds can be used beyond traditional scoring, making it a valuable asset for any composer or producer looking to give their music a high-impact, dramatic edge.

2. How You Use It in Your Workflow
The UJAM Symphonic Elements series has features that maximizes speed and control:

• Layered Foundation: I utilize the DRUMS and PERRCS to establish a rhythmic base, then layer the STRIIIINGS and BRAAASS on top to set a melodic-rhythmic pattern. Crucially, I often blend and layer these loops with external sounds from my existing toolbox, ensuring the final mix is unique and not just a standard preset.
• Aggressive Workflow Hack: I use the double-speed technique (e.g., creating the track at 200 BPM) to achieve better MIDI resolution, then rely on the Half-Speed option in the plugin to pull the loops back to the correct tempo (e.g., 100 BPM). This is a highly efficient way to maintain precise control while leveraging the plugin's automatic tempo syncing.
• Two-Tiered Sound Design: I leverage the plugin's integrated effects by adjusting the individual High/Low layer filters when needed, and then applying the global polish and dramatic effects using the Finisher control. This ensures both clear layering and powerful, master-level processing.
• Structural Sketching: The dedicated Intros, Fills, and Endings within the PERRCS module are used to rapidly sketch a percussion bed, ensuring the dynamic structure and transitions of a cue are in place immediately.

3. Key Features That Make It Stand Out
The standout features are those that directly support rapid, professional cinematic composition:

• Finisher Engine: The "Finisher" is a powerful, macro-style control that applies complex multi-effects (like mastering compression, glitch, and distortion) to the entire instrument output, delivering that final, polished, high-impact sound with the turn of a single knob.
• Layer-Specific Controls: The ability to mute, pan, and apply character effects (EQ, motion) to the Low and High components of each instrument independently is essential for precise mixing and blending into a dense orchestration.
• Chord Selector and Performance Keys: For the melodic instruments (STRIIIINGS and BRAAASS), the ability to trigger musically appropriate, tempo-synced, and harmonically correct phrases simply by pressing a key/chord is the core element of the "instant" sound design.
• Tempo Sync and Half/Double-Speed: The seamless integration with the DAW's tempo, along with the options to manipulate playback speed, is vital for the rhythmic manipulation I need in my music productions.

While any of these instruments is a great addition to a music creator’s tools, it’s the combination of the bundle that really makes it stand out. I highly recommend checking out the UJAM Symphonic Elements Series.

 

 

 

4. Soundiron Requiem Light Symphonic Choir

Grab Soundiron Requiem Light Symphonic Choir from Plugin Boutique – a versatile choir library for rhythmic, atmospheric, and high-impact cinematic layers

1. Why This Plugin Is Essential for Cinematic/Trailer Music
Soundiron Requiem Light Symphonic Choir is essential because it provides an instant, premium source of two crucial cinematic elements: rhythmic drive and intense atmosphere.

• Rhythmic Engine: I mostly use the Rhythmic Syllables ("Cru-Du-Fa-Glo") as a dynamic rhythmic engine. This driving, chanted energy is essential for high-impact trailers and for adding a unique texture to non-cinematic genres like Hip-Hop.
• Tension and Atmosphere: The inclusion of specialized sounds like Whisper Chants is vital for tension-building in horror trailer tracks, while the Body Percussion provides a quick source for tribal and rock-style stomp-claps.
• Performance & Speed: The high quality of the presets combined with the fluid Mod Wheel and Pedal integration allows for rapid sound selection and real-time expressive control, which is crucial for maximizing speed in a professional sync workflow.

2. How To Use It in Your Workflow
My workflow maximizes the expressive and rhythmic capabilities of the library:

• Dynamic Texture Shifting: The crossfade between vowel sources (e.g., Ah and U) is used not just for subtle swells, but to alternate vocal textures, blending the increase in emotional intensity with rhythmic variation in real-time.
• Layered Percussion: The Body Percussion (stomp-claps) is often layered with existing drum libraries to create a deeper, more impactful, and often tribal or rock-infused rhythm section.
• Mixing Consistency: Being strategic with effects, using only a slight amount of the built-in reverb to retain the sample's character, while applying a larger, global reverb in my DAW to seamlessly integrate the choir into the overall mix's virtual space.
• Rhythmic Accuracy: For rhythmic elements, I use an "all-or-nothing" approach: either relying on the plugin's tempo-synced options for instant groove, or playing in my own patterns (using the one-shot syllables) to achieve total control and rhythmic tightness.

3. Key Features That Make It Stand Out
The most distinguishing features are those that facilitate its expressive and rhythmic functions:

• Rhythmic Syllable Patches: This is the core feature for me. Having those staccato vocal latin phrases make a track feel epic and grand, providing a distinct, chanted rhythmic texture that transcends genre boundaries (trailers, Hip-Hop).
• Vowel Crossfade Control: This feature, particularly when mapped to a pedal, is the central dynamic control, enabling real-time shifts in timbre and intensity, the hallmark of expressive choir performance.
• FX Folder (Body Percussion/Whispers): The inclusion of these specialized non-choir sounds significantly broadens the library's utility, making it a source for both percussive drive and crucial tension-building atmosphere.
• Ambiences and Pads: These are essential for providing deep, sustained support (drones) or unique, evolving textures for underscore, ensuring the primary rhythmic choir elements sit atop a solid, atmospheric foundation.

For your choir needs, look no further than the Soundiron Requiem Light Symphonic Choir!

 

 

 

5. Heavyocity Symphonic Destruction

Now on Plugin Boutique, try Symphonic Destruction for epic trailer cues and high-intensity scoring.

1. Why This Plugin Is Essential for Cinematic/Trailer Music
Heavyocity’s Symphonic Destruction is essential because it is a "damage-centric" hybrid scoring tool that prioritizes rhythmic intensity and epic, high-impact moments, which are the cornerstones of modern trailer music.

• Rhythmic Momentum: I rely on the Traditional short articulations first, combined with the use of Ostinatos for rhythmic momentum. The library is a foundational tool for building the fast, driving pace I need for trailer cues.
• Layering for Hybrid Sound: Symphonic Destruction natively supports the hybrid workflow by providing FX Textures and Soundscapes specifically to be layered with traditional orchestration, instantly adding the "modern, damaged" sound design texture that defines the genre.
• Instant Impact: The dedicated Braam Designer provides a solution for instantly creating massive, multi-layered low-end hits, which are mandatory for some trailers.

2. How You Use It in Your Workflow
I use Symphonic Destruction in ways that maximizes speed and impact:

• Rhythm First, Chaos Second: I use Traditional short articulations to help build out tension. The aggressive, Damaged elements (Punish/Twist) are then deployed sparsely/for transitions, acting as a "weapon" to enhance drama and impact at critical moments rather than coloring the entire track.
• Transitional Tools: The Swells and Crescendos are highly efficient transition elements and great for outlining the dynamics of a sketch. This saves significant time by providing immediate, high-quality dynamic structure without needing manual automation.
• Modular Rhythmic Foundation: I use the Loop Designer as starting points or for layering under other rhythms, ensuring I have unique rhythmic complexity while benefiting from the library's quality sounds.
• Holistic Braam Design: I utilize all elements of the Braam Designer, the low-end rumble, harmonic definition, and decay tails, to create braams that are complete cinematic events, not just simple bass hits.

3. Key Features That Make It Stand Out
The most distinguishing features are those that facilitate its hybrid functionality and speed:

• The Braam Designer: A dedicated multi-layer engine for creating and customizing the most important sound in trailer music, the Braam hit, with separate control over sub-frequency, tone, and decay.
• The Punish/Twist Macros: These highly expressive, automatable macro controls allow for aggressive, real-time application of distortion, compression, and modulation, giving performers immediate control over the level of "destruction" in their sound.
• Three-Part Sound Architecture (Traditional, Hybrid, Damaged): This built-in categorization guides the user toward the modern hybrid sound, offering separate starting points for purity, blending, and processing.
• Rhythmic Performance Types (Ostinatos/Pedals): The inclusion of these pre-programmed, tempo-synced patterns (which I prefer for melodic Ostinatos) allows for the rapid construction of complex, driving rhythmic beds that are the signature of high-tempo cinematic action.

Another great offering from the team at Heavyocity, I find that layering Symphonic Destruction with some of my traditional orchestral sounds can be very impactful in the trailer music space.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Together, these five plugins, Keepforest Evolution: Devastator Breakout Pro, Heavyocity Damage 2, UJAM Symphonic Elements Bundle, Soundiron Requiem Light, and Heavyocity Symphonic Destruction form a complete toolkit that streamlines the workflow and elevates the sound quality of any cinematic or trailer music production.

Strategically using these libraries can help any music creator prioritize speed, layering, and high-impact dynamics.

These tools collectively elevate cinematic and trailer productions by solving the industry's two biggest demands: speed and impact.

• Accelerated Workflow: Whether using Devastator's Randomize function to generate new ideas or UJAM's Cinematic Sounds for instant harmonic arrangements, these plugins significantly compress the time between musical idea and polished track.
• Layered Dynamic Control: Every plugin offers dedicated features, from Damage 2's Punish Knob to Symphonic Destruction's Braam Designer, that allow you to strategically automate aggression and blend sounds. This ensures tracks build from subtle tension (using filters and dynamics) to an explosive, hyper-processed climax (using saturation and full-spectrum layering).
• Genre Versatility: I use all five of these libraries to inject a "cinematic flair" into Hip-Hop and EDM as well, proving their value extends far beyond traditional scoring, making them indispensable for any producer looking to add high-energy drama to their projects.

If you’re serious about creating music that stands out in the trailer and sync licensing space, integrating these five powerful plugins into your template is a game-changer.

I'm constantly diving deep into the latest tools and techniques to help you master cinematic sound design. Be sure to follow my channel for more plugin reviews, tutorials on layering these massive sounds, and sound design insights that will keep your music production workflow fast, fresh, and impactful!