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

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated as 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 fo ...

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...

and

interactive media Interactive media refers to digital experiences that dynamically respond to user input, delivering content such as Text (literary theory), text, images, animations, video, Sound, audio, and even Artificial intelligence, AI-driven interactions. O ...

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

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 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, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. 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'' and '' Let the Good Times Roll''. In 1971, Abel and Con Pederson founded Robert Abel and Associates (RA&A), creating slit-scan effects and using motion-controlled cameras for television commercials and films. RA&A began using Evans & Sutherland computers to previsualize their effects; this led to the creation of the trailer for '' The Black Hole'', and the development of their own software for digitally animating films (including '' Tron''). 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 its services were terminated by Paramount. In 1984, Robert Abel and Associates produced a commercial named ''Brilliance'' for the Canned Food Information Council for airing during the Super Bowl XIX 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 awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

(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 television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

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

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at the age of 64. Abel's film ''By the Sea'', made with Pat O'Neill, was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.

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