Tencent Studio Calls Halt to ‘996’ Working Hours
For the employees of one Chinese game developer, weekends are weekends again. A daughter enterprise of Tencent, one of China’s largest internet companies, is turning its back on the tech sector’s pervasive “996” culture, where employees work long hours with few rest days. According to a document widely circulated online, employees at Lightspeed & Quantum Studios, a Chinese game developer owned by Tencent Interactive Entertainment Group (IEG), Wednesdays are “health days,” where everybody has to leave work by 6 p.m. Working beyond 9 p.m. on other workdays, as well as working during weekends and public holidays, requires seeking permission in advance. Read more Sixth Tone
New Technology Reshapes China’s Film Industry
Virtual production has great potential in China with its record-high box office income and first-class artificial intelligence innovations and industry, speakers told a forum of the Shanghai International Film Festival. Virtual production, which allows directors to see special effects beforehand, cuts production costs by half and improves efficiency. It also bridges “western technologies and Chinese culture and stories,” said Ma Ping, deputy general manager of State Production of China Film Group. Read more SHINE
