I kept seeing this trick pop up online: people projecting 3D holograms from their phones using nothing but a glass dish and plastic. I thought it had to be fake, edited in post, the kind of internet hack that looks great but doesn’t actually work in real life.
I decided to try it myself just to see. Five minutes later, I had a working 3D hologram that actually looked magical with the lights turned off. It’s genuinely impressive how well this works. It’s not a true hologram. It’s technically an optical illusion, but it looks close enough that it’s immediately satisfying.
Better yet, it takes minutes to set up and costs almost nothing. As silly as it might be, this is easily the most fun you can have with your phone and some household items. Here’s how it’s done.
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What you’ll need
- Your smartphone: The brighter, the better. Any phone will do, but a device with high peak brightness will make the hologram pop.
- A clear glass dish: Snag a square or rectangular container roughly the size of your phone. Skip the round bowls — flat edges are the secret to a crisp reflection.
- Clear plastic film: You don’t need anything fancy here. An old overhead transparency sheet, a clear plastic product packaging lid, or even a plastic screen protector works perfectly.
- Tape and scissors: Just standard household tape to lock your DIY rig together.
How to build your DIY hologram projector
Start by cutting your clear plastic sheet into a rectangle that roughly matches the size of your phone screen.
Next, you need to bend the plastic at approximately a 45-degree angle. Take your time here — this specific slope is the magic secret that creates the floating reflection.
Once you have your angle, place the plastic inside the glass dish and secure it with tape at the top and bottom edges. Double-check that it’s stable so it doesn’t collapse later. Now, simply turn the glass dish upside down on your table so the plastic slopes down toward your viewing position.
Find a 3D hologram video online (just search “3D hologram video” on YouTube to find thousands of options) and set it to full screen. Once you’ve selected your video, carefully place your phone screen-down flat on top of the inverted dish, making sure it’s perfectly centered over the angled plastic inside.
Now enjoy watching the illusion come to life! The darker the room the better the hologram will project, so make sure to cut the lights and close the curtains.
Why this trick actually works
When light from your phone screen hits the angled transparent plastic at 45 degrees, it reflects toward your eyes. But because the plastic is clear, you can also see through it to the background behind the dish.
Your brain combines the reflection (the video image) with the background you see through the plastic, and perceives the image as floating in mid-air between them.
It’s the same principle used in 19th-century parlor tricks and modern concert projections where performers appear to perform alongside holograms. The only difference is scale — yours is tiny and created with household items instead of professional equipment.
The key is the 45-degree angle. Any other angle and the reflection doesn’t work properly. The angle is what directs the light from your phone screen directly into your eyes while still letting you see the background.
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