How to black-out a few seconds of bad video while keeping the audio?

[newbee]

I'm using Windows Movie Maker version 5.1 on a new Dell WinXP Media
Center, 3.4 GHz, 2 GB RAM system, with an Angel TV tuner card and an
SB Audigy 2ZS Audio (D8CO) sound card.

At the very beginning of my video/audio project, in the first clip,
there is bad video for a few seconds, but the audio is fine. I'd like
to black out the bad video, then transition from that blackness into
the good part of the video. The problem is that all of the audio needs
to be kept - it should be heard under the blackness and the video
transition.

However, when I trim the first clip to remove the bad video, the audio
also is deleted, of course. If I copy/paste the Audio track into the
Audio/Music track, and then trim out the bad part of the first clip,
that Audio/Music track doesn't match up with the video, because the
Trim Points don't seem to affect the Audio/Music track.

What is the procedure for blacking-out the bad video, while keeping
the audio under the blackness?

Thanks.

 

[elmojr]

Just wanted to say *thanks* for everyone's help. Have figured out
solutions to all my posted problems except the problem described with
the following Subject line:

After clicking on "Capture from video device", the cursor changes to an
hour-glass, but never stops

I'd very much appreciate any suggestions for that continuing problem.

 

[Rehan]

You can either replace the trimmed portion with another clip from the video
or just a black image. Trim the video as you did at the start of bad part
and at the end. Move the bad clip from Video track to the Music track (this
keps the audio). Now insert a title or pure black image of any size in
there. Resize the duration of the image by dragging the right border to fit
it match the audio track underneath.

 

[elmojr]

Thanks, Rehan. What size should the black image be, in terms of pixels,
and what format? BMP?

 

[Rehan]

For black images the size does not matter. For any other color it should be
4:3 or 16:9 ratio same as your movie. But its easier to use a blank title
(one space as text) with background color as black.