Hey Tessa, this is Nick & Tony (we had a problem posting with our accounts so we are using Gareth's).
This is our update on lighting.

These are some tests we made. Let us know what you think and which one you prefer.

We had difficulty keeping all the shots consistent in lighting so we decided we needed a basic light rig. We did a simple light dome rig that we can use as a consistent base to light all our shots. then we can tweak each shot individually from there on. Please let us know what you think.



Below is a render composited with ambient occlusion. First of all we had a problem with our previous lighting setup, which was too dark. Half of our animation is happening at the back of the store, so we cant have it as dark as our previous version. so we bumped up the levels behind the shop as well.



After doing the above, we realised that the colors of the walls and floor were too saturated and it sort of clashed with our characters. and it did not really look 1930s anymore. It looked more modern than what we wanted. So we desaturated the walls and floor.



And after we bumped up the levels in photoshop and this is the result we got. please let us know if there is anything glaring to address.



We also tried to light the opening shot which is an outdoor shot. We brought it to photoshop and brought up the levels contrast and saturation. Please advise.



Below is one of the shots that we tried to light. We really like the levels and color but based on our premise, we might have difficulty keeping this look consistent throughout all of our shots. We handled this shot individually without including a basic light rig (that can be applied on other shots), so we dont have the luxury of time to replicate this look throughout all our 59 shots. Please advise. Thank you so much for your time Tessa.