This disclosure is directed to techniques for encoding and decoding transitional effects, i.e., visual video effects that are used to transition from a current scene of a multimedia sequence. According to the disclosed techniques, an encoding device detects a transitional effect associated with a multimedia sequence during the encoding of the multimedia sequence, and transmits information as part of an encoded multimedia sequence to identify the transitional effect associated with the encoded multimedia sequence to a decoder. The information may comprise metadata that can be used by the decoder to simulate or re-create the transitional effect. The decoder simulates a transitional effect in response to the information.