1) Used in the online youtube acting community to refer to a scene or period of time in which the actors are in character.
2) Used to distinguish whether or not an actor's actions or emotions are part of the character they
play or not. This is especially common within contexts such as the Minecraft role-
play server Dream SMP, where actors shift in and out of character constantly and the lines between acting and not acting are blurred, and what is considered 'canonical' in the plot is quite
loose and up to interpretation. This is especially
true since the characters the actors
play are often similar to their own
true personality, due to the casualness of the setting and the way in which many characters evolved naturally over time through improv, drawing large parts of themselves from the actors personalities, rather then being planned beforehand.
The term likely originates from
television acting, in which a 'five-or-less' or 'bit part' is a role in-between an extra and a supporting character. To be considered a bit part, the role the actor plays must have no more then
5 lines of dialogue and a direct interaction with one of the principle actors. Cameo roles by
famous celebrities are often bit parts.
1
"Sorry chat, we can't go hang out with Tubbo now, he'
s doing a bit with
Tommy."
"THAT is commitment to the bit!" -Matpat in his recent Film Theory episode, referring to actor Nathan Barnatt's filming of a 4 hour dance video in which he stays in character for the entire time.
2
"I know people are concerned because I've been 'forgetting' lots of things recently, but don't worry guys, it's just a bit."
"Stop sending hate to
Dream for being manipulative to
Tommy, they're just doing a bit."