1. A method of estimating complexity of a dependent frame in video, the method comprising: in response to detecting a special event in a video stream, determining a first dependent frame after the special event using a video encoding module coupled to a processor; determining a type of coding for the first dependent frame using the video encoding module coupled to the processor; and estimating a complexity of the first dependent frame based on a motion estimation cost of the first dependent frame and the motion estimation cost and complexity of a single previously encoded dependent frame prior to the special event, wherein a sequence relative to an intra-frame of the single previously encoded dependent frame corresponds to a sequence relative to an intra-frame of the first dependent frame.