Polygon Pictures, one of the oldest digital animation studios worldwide, has been turning its lights off at 10 p.m. sharp since 2011. Employees can turn them back on again but they automatically go dark every hour.
In Japanese animation companies, where workers normally stay at the office for days until their project is finished, this kind of attitude is not just rare — it's nonexistent.
Shuzo Shiota, 49, president of Tokyo-based Polygon Pictures, chuckled, saying it was initially meant to save electricity following the March 2011 mega-quake and tsunami. But it also allowed the company to maintain strict management of production — more like a factory line — as well as a better working environment for employees.