Make your own cheap 3D to 2D glasses

The 3D fad is having a huge impact, but not everyone is on board. If you’re one of those people that would rather see movies in 2D, then what you need is 3D to 2D glasses. I made a pair of these to see Beauty and the Beast. The movie was never meant to be made in 3D, so I would rather watch it like it should be seen. The glasses worked great, showing the movie in 2D as it was originally made despite viewing a 3D version. Appalled that functionally similar glasses were being sold for $8 online, I’ve put together these instructions so that you can make your own for next to nothing.

You really don’t need much to make these. You need 2 pairs of Real D 3D glasses, some cardboard, some tape, a pair of scissors and a small amount of time. If you have another pair of cardboard 3D glasses for reference, that will make your job easier.

Cut out cardboard glasses in the same style that other 3D glasses would look. I traced a pair of Bots Master 3D shades, but using this picture as a reference you should be able to do the same without much trouble. Simply make sure that the glasses will fit your head, and that the openings for the lenses are smaller than the lenses themselves. Make two layers of cardboard for the frames, so that the lenses can be placed between them. I used three separate pieces that I taped together, but if you have a large enough piece of cardboard the entire frame could be one large piece.

Get two pairs of Real D 3D glasses, you can keep these after seeing a movie, and if you stick around for the credits you’ll notice that a lot of people leave them in their cup holders when they leave the theatre, so getting your hands on two pairs shouldn’t be too hard. Take either two right or two left lenses from these glasses. The 3D illusion is made by presenting a different image to each eye. If you have the same kind of lens on both eyes, the illusion disappears, and the image is once again in 2 dimensions. With two pairs of glasses, you can make two pairs of 3D to 2D glasses. One will be made with both right lenses, the other with both left. You’ll need to destroy the glasses and remove the lenses, which are made of a thin material. I was able to pull apart the plastic holding the lenses in place with a simple butter knife. Be sure not to confuse the front from back side of the lens, because if you reverse them, they won’t work properly.

Tape the lenses to the cardboard, put the other layer on top, and then tape all the pieces together. You want to make sure the parts that touch the nose and ears are covered with enough tape so that they will rest carefully on your face without the cardboard edge causing irritation.

And there you have it, 3D to 2D glasses. Wear these to any movie that’s shown in Real D 3D and it will look just like it would in a “normal” theatre. These won’t work in something like Imax 3D, as that uses a completely different system. Feel free to be creative, put some paint, stickers, whatever on there, or do something completely different. You really just need the lenses, so you could stick those in a hockey mask, hold it to your head with ribbon, make a frame out of pipe cleaners, use glue or staples instead of tape, whatever works!

With new 3D movies being released all the time now, many of which are in fake 3D, including all these 2D movies being “updated” with 3D, glasses like this are a must if you like going to the theatre. 3D technology is in no way new, it’s just newly popular, so it’s not that filmmakers can only now make their movies in 3D, it’s that stupid audiences are only now willing to pay for it, so don’t buy into the hype. Watch these movies as they were always meant to be seen, in 2D.

Too lazy to even do this work? That’s okay, there are other tricks you can use. A simple eye patch will ensure you only see through one lens of your glasses and will make a movie appear 2D. Similarly you can use anything, such as masking tape, paint or cardboard, to cover a lens of your glasses and cause the same effect. When all else fails, if you absolutely refuse to buy anything or put any work into this, just keep one eye closed, and you’ll see the film in all its 2D glory.