Robert Abel (March 10, 1937 – September 23, 2001) was an American pioneer in

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...

and

interactive media Interactive media normally refers to products and services on digital computer-based systems which respond to the user's actions by presenting content such as text, moving image, animation, video and audio. Since its early conception, various fo ...

, best known for the work of his company, Robert Abel and Associates. Born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, he received degrees in Design and Film from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. He began his work in computer graphics in the 1950s, as an apprentice to John Whitney. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Abel wrote or directed several films, including '' The Making of the President, 1968'', ''

Elvis on Tour ''Elvis on Tour'' is a 1972 American concert film starring Elvis Presley during his fifteen-city spring tour earlier that year. It is written, produced, directed by Pierre Adidge and Robert Abel and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Follow ...

'' and '' Let the Good Times Roll''. In 1971, Abel and Con Pederson founded Robert Abel and Associates (RA&A), creating

slit-scan The slit-scan photography technique is a photographic and cinematographic process where a moveable slide, into which a slit has been cut, is inserted between the camera and the subject to be photographed. More generally, "slit-scan photography" ...

effects and using motion-controlled cameras for television commercials and films. RA&A began using

Evans & Sutherland Evans & Sutherland is a pioneering American computer firm in the computer graphics field. Its current products are used in digital projection environments like planetariums. Its simulation business, which it sold to Rockwell Collins, sold products ...

computers to previsualize their effects; this led to the creation of the trailer for ''

The Black Hole ''The Black Hole'' is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Gary Nelson and produced by Walt Disney Productions. The film stars Maximilian Schell, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms, Yvette Mimieux, Anthony Perkins and Ernest Borgnine, ...

'', and the development of their own software for digitally animating films (including ''

Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action-adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer a ...

''). Abel and Associates was contracted to provide Paramount Pictures the special effects for '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'', but was not able to deliver them, and was taken off the film. In 1984, Robert Abel and Associates produced a commercial named ''Brilliance'' for the Canned Food Information Council for airing during the

Super Bowl XIX Super Bowl XIX was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1984 Miami Dolphins season, Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1984 San Francisco 49ers season, San Francisco 49 ...

telecast. It featured a sexy robot with reflective environment mapping and human-like motion. Abel & Associates closed in 1987 following an ill-fated merger with now defunct Omnibus Computer Graphics, Inc., a company which had been based in Toronto. In the 1990s, Abel founded Synapse Technologies, an early interactive media company, which produced pioneering educational projects for IBM, including "Columbus: Discovery, Encounter and Beyond" and "Evolution/Revolution: The World from 1890-1930". He received numerous honors, including a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

(for Elvis on Tour), 2

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s, and 33 Clios. Abel died from complications following a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may ...

at the age of 64. Abel's film ''By the Sea'', made with Pat O'Neill, was preserved by the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

in 2007.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abel, Robert 1937 births 2001 deaths Computer graphics professionals Artists from Cleveland UCLA Film School alumni