One Rider. One Story. 10 Minutes.
Each episode of Lids Off is designed to tell the story of one rider
in approximately 10 minutes.
The aim isn’t to cover everything about their life or everything about their motorcycle.
It’s to discover enough about the person behind the helmet that, by the end of ten minutes,
the viewer feels like they’ve genuinely met them.
The conversation can be recorded for considerably longer than ten minutes. The strongest
moments are then edited together with riding footage, motorcycle details, photographs and
scenes from the rider’s life.
The interview provides the story. The edit creates the episode.
1. LIDS ON — THE HOOK
0:00–0:30
Open with one of the strongest statements from the interview.
It might be funny, surprising, emotional or thought-provoking.
Cut between the rider’s words and cinematic footage:
- Helmet
- Gloves
- Bike
- Ignition
- Engine
- Visor down
- Riding
Then:
LIDS OFF
One Rider. One Story. Beyond the Helmet.
2. THE PERSON
0:30–2:00
Meet the person before concentrating on the motorcycle.
Keep this conversational and fast-moving.
Key Questions
- Who are you when you’re not riding?
- What do you do with your life away from motorcycles?
- What’s something riders who know you probably don’t know about you?
- How would your closest mates describe you?
The objective is simple:
Meet the person before meeting the rider.
3. THE RIDER
2:00–4:00
Now discover their motorcycle story.
Key Questions
- How did motorcycles enter your life?
- What was your first bike?
- Why did you start riding?
- What do you remember about your first proper ride?
- What has changed about you since becoming a rider?
Use photographs and old footage where available.
This section should answer:
How did this person become this rider?
4. THE MACHINE
4:00–5:30
Move away from the interview setting and introduce their motorcycle.
Start simply:
“Show me your bike.”
Key Questions
- What are you riding?
- Why this bike?
- Does it have a name?
- What’s your favourite thing about it?
- What’s the story behind one modification, scratch or feature?
- What’s the bike you’d own if money didn’t matter?
Keep the technical specifications to a minimum.
We’re interested in why this motorcycle matters to this rider.
5. BEHIND THE VISOR
5:30–7:30
This is the heart of Lids Off.
Move beyond motorcycles and ask what riding actually means to them.
Key Questions
- What happens in your head when you’re riding?
- What does riding give you that the rest of life doesn’t?
- Has motorcycling helped you through anything?
- What has riding taught you about yourself?
- What do the people you’ve met through motorcycles mean to you?
Don’t manufacture emotion.
Some answers will be serious. Some will be funny. Some will be incredibly simple.
Let the rider’s story determine the direction.
6. LIDS OFF QUICKFIRE
7:30–8:30
One minute. Fast questions. Fast answers.
- Mountains or coast?
- Solo or group?
- Sunrise or night ride?
- Cruiser or sportsbike?
- Twisties or highway?
- Coffee stop or pub feed?
- Clean bike or dirty bike?
- Music or engine?
- GPS or “I know where I’m going”?
Finish with:
One motorcycle. Forever. What are you choosing?
This provides a fun change of pace before the final section.
7. THE LID COMES OFF
8:30–9:30
Slow everything down.
This is the signature Lids Off moment.
Every rider is asked the same final question:
“When the helmet eventually comes off for the last time, what do you hope
people remember about the person who wore it?”
Then give them time.
Don’t interrupt. Don’t immediately fill the silence.
Let them answer in their own way.
8. RIDE OUT
9:30–10:00
No more interview.
The rider picks up their helmet.
Jacket.
Gloves.
Helmet on.
Bike starts.
They ride away.
Use part of their final answer as a voiceover if appropriate.
Hold the shot as they disappear.
Cut to black.
LIDS OFF
One Rider. One Story. Beyond the Helmet.
A CNTS Production
Cruisers • Naked • Touring • Sports
THE 10-MINUTE RULE
The finished episode should be approximately 10 minutes.
The actual interview doesn’t need to be.
A rider might be interviewed for 30–45 minutes.
Additional time can be spent filming:
- Their motorcycle
- Riding sequences
- Helmet and gear
- Their workplace or hobbies
- Photographs and memorabilia
- Interactions with riding mates
- Off-bike activities
- Cinematic B-roll
The production team then finds the best ten minutes of their story.
This is important because Lids Off shouldn’t feel rushed simply because
the episode is short.
We aren’t trying to squeeze a 40-minute interview into ten minutes.
We’re finding the ten minutes that best answer one question:
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