I’ve taken to calling big purchases “chunks” – and we just spent our biggest chunk yet, a buy that just doubled (plus change) the budget so far.

The main culprit: a light kit to be used for green screen shooting. That’s three lights, stands, and “soft boxes” (which diffuse the light for an even look) for $235.99. It’s a big enough chunk to make me cry a little, even though I know that’s a low, low, low end kit, about the best we can do on a shoestring without diving into the land of shoddy product. Most kits run two, four, or more times that cost; Ryan was pushing for something in the $350-400 range. Fingers crossed, the set will be sturdy enough to provide quality lighting for cheap (and perhaps can double without the softbox covers for outdoor shoots, although we hope Ryan’s current kit, plus another light we plan on buying later, will do the job on their own).

With lights, you need sandbags to keep them in place. A professional set of four ran us $28.69. Sand not included. (I hope the kids at the playground don’t mind if I take theirs.)

You also need clips to hold lighting gels in place. $8.73 for a set of six.

We only have a few more chunks to go before we hit the nickel-and-dime arena of the shoot itself. I think we can make it.