  We imaged the infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) G1.75-0.08 and G11.36+0.80 at 350
$\mu$m and 450 $\mu$m using the ArT\'eMiS bolometer. These data were used in
conjunction with our previous 870 $\mu$m observations with the Large APEX
BOlometer CAmera (LABOCA). The clumps in G11.36+0.80 were also observed in the
N$_2$H$^+(1-0)$ transition with the IRAM 30-metre telescope. G1.75-0.08 was
found to be composed of two cold ($\sim14.5$ K), massive (several $\sim10^3$
M$_{\odot}$) clumps that are projectively separated by $\sim3.7$ pc. Both
clumps are 70 $\mu$m dark, but they do not appear to be bounded by
self-gravity. The G1.75-0.08 filament was found to be subcritical by a factor
of $\sim14$ with respect to its critical line mass. G11.36+0.80 was found to be
moderately (by a factor of $\sim2$) supercritical and composed of four clumps.
The dust temperatures of the clumps are $\sim13-15$ K, and their masses are in
the range $\sim 232-633$ M$_{\odot}$. All the clumps are gravitationally bound.
The projected, average separation of the clumps is $\sim1$ pc. A configuration
that is observed in G1.75-0.08, namely two clumps at the ends of the filament,
could be the result of gravitational focussing acting along the cloud. The two
clumps fulfil the mass-radius threshold for high-mass star formation. Owing to
the location of G1.75-0.08 near the Galactic centre ($\sim270$ pc),
environmental effects such as a high level of turbulence, tidal forces, and
shearing motions could affect the cloud dynamics. The observed clump separation
in G11.36+0.80 can be understood in terms of a sausage instability. The
G11.36+0.80 clumps do not lie above the mass-radius threshold for high-mass
star formation. The substructure observed in one of the clumps in G11.36+0.80
suggests that the IRDC has fragmented in a hierarchical fashion. This conforms
to the filamentary paradigm for Galactic star formation.
