I originally created this effect for the old ERA404 web site when we were using the “Not Found” themes, but the concept was deprecated when we updated our marketing strategy. Since I really loved the result, I was happy to see a need for this script arise again during the creation of the Who is Augustine? site, created for Jonathan Safran Foer and his first novel, Everything is Illuminated. You can see the effect employed if you click on Augustine’s glasses in the link that takes you into her house.
People have asked how this was created and its actually quite simple. Rather than explain it, I’ve provided a zip for you to download to see the simple code involved. If you have questions, feel free to post comments.