Synopsis

A seemingly detached young man moves through London's nightlife with unsettling purpose. He watches couples and partygoers before retreating into private rituals, including weightlifting and dressing in fencing gear. Once among the crowds, his boredom turns into a violent killing spree, carried out with chilling calm and sudden bursts of force. The video contrasts bright parties, stylish East London locations and The Shoes' upbeat electronic track with the killer's grim routine, presenting him less as a conventional villain than as an inscrutable figure whose motives remain deliberately unclear.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video's concept began as a British take on the slasher genre, set among the fashionable party crowds of Dalston.

• Its creators deliberately stayed close to the killer rather than showing events mainly from the victims' perspective. The character's backstory was developed, but the finished video keeps his thoughts and motives opaque.

• The production took place during a London snowstorm. While the crew wore parkas, scarves and gloves, Jake Gyllenhaal performed in the fencing costume required for the scenes.

• The Shoes had previously worked with the same creative team on "Stay the Same." Their enthusiasm for that earlier video led them to give the filmmakers substantial freedom on "Time To Dance."

• Editor Tom Lindsay initially worked without music, then used stems supplied by The Shoes to shape the final mix and edit around the picture.

• The production involved Somesuch & Co, cinematographer Robbie Ryan, editor Tom Lindsay and post-production work by Framestore.

• The cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Callum Turner and Tahliah Barnett, who later became widely known as FKA twigs.

• The video was presented in the Music Video Competition at SXSW in 2013, helping reinforce its reputation as a music video with the scale and atmosphere of a short film.