Scanner beam material w/ soft edge - how ?

Here is what I am after: Best of Oblivion Drones - YouTube

I figured I’d just make a UV mapped plane and probably make a texture of the beam, then use it with translucent unlit material with texture in the emission socket.

Is there a better way of doing it ?

How would I mix plain texture with animated texture (flipbook?) to achieve that mild cloudy effect on the beam ?

How would I make a soft edge when beam crosses other geometry ?

P.S. It’s for a mobile platform

Thanks