The above are screen caps from http://www.sbs.com.au/theboat/. It’s hard to see from the images, but the entire website is dynamic and represents a fantastic use of javascript, as well as audio. It is an example of fantastic design because the animations, audio, and visuals all contribute to the story while the story really builds on the mood developed by the animations. For example, when the boat is struck on the side, the text and image both lurch to the right and become disjoint (pictured in the second image). The story would be much less engaging without the graphics and the graphics and animations only work in the context of this specific story. The animations are no more flashy than they need to be, acting as reenforcement for the story without needing to stand out on their own.
As a point of comparison, contrast that use of javascript the use in http://void.hi-res.net/elements (pictured below). Its animations are displayed in order to impress and awe the user, but don’t contribute to any satisfactory story. In this case, the animations are unnecessarily heavy without succeeding in conveying a clear idea.
