Robert Abel and Associates

Robert Abel and Associates (RA&A) was an influential American animation and visual-effects production company founded in 1971 by Robert Abel and Con Pederson. Based in Hollywood, California, the studio became particularly prominent for television commercials that used computer graphics as an expressive art-direction medium rather than merely as a technical novelty. Its work combined design, cinematography, animation, and emerging digital-rendering techniques at a time when computer-generated imagery was still difficult, expensive, and largely confined to research institutions or specialized production environments. The company developed a reputation for unusually sophisticated imagery. Its artists and engineers produced full ray-traced renders, fluidly animated forms, and other effects that were not yet common in commercial production. RA&A’s output helped demonstrate that computer animation could support polished advertising, title sequences, entertainment graphics, and music-video storytelling. The company won numerous Clio Awards for its commercial work, strengthening its position within the advertising and design industries. RA&A also worked beyond television advertising. Its credits and associated work included graphics for motion pictures such as The Andromeda Strain and Tron, as well as the laserdisc video game Cube Quest. The studio was originally commissioned to create visual effects for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, although it was later removed from that project after problems involving the handling of funds. The episode became one of the company’s most consequential setbacks, even as RA&A continued to be remembered for advancing computer-generated production methods. Among the studio’s notable popular-culture projects was its work on The Jacksons’ 1981 music video “Can You Feel It.” The video’s elaborate effects and transformation imagery illustrated RA&A’s ability to bring commercial computer-graphics techniques into music promotion and mass entertainment. The company’s location near the southwest corner of Highland Avenue and Romaine Street placed it within Hollywood’s production community while allowing it to operate as a specialist design and technology studio. RA&A closed in 1987 after an unsuccessful merger with Omnibus Computer Graphics, a Toronto-based company that later became defunct. Although the business itself did not survive, its professional legacy was substantial. Former RA&A personnel went on to establish or join other important computer-graphics and visual-effects companies, including Wavefront Technologies and Rhythm & Hues, while many alumni later contributed to award-winning film and animation projects. RA&A is therefore remembered less as a continuing consumer-facing brand than as an important incubator in the development of commercial computer animation and the modern visual-effects industry.

Robert Abel and Associates emerged in 1971 during the formative period of commercial computer graphics. Founded by Robert Abel and Con Pederson, the company operated from Hollywood and focused on applying emerging digital-imaging techniques to professional production. Its principal market was television advertising, where the studio could combine art direction, animation, rendering, and post-production into highly controlled visual presentations. The studio’s importance came from the gap between conventional animation and the capabilities of early computer graphics. At the time, rendering complex surfaces, lighting them convincingly, and animating organic or character-like forms required substantial technical effort. RA&A nevertheless produced imagery that emphasized polished design and visual spectacle. Its work included full ray-traced renders and fluid animation, techniques that were uncommon in mainstream production when the company was active. The resulting commercials helped establish computer animation as a viable premium production method and contributed to the studio’s receipt of many Clio Awards. RA&A expanded its activities into film and entertainment graphics. Its work was associated with motion pictures including The Andromeda Strain and Tron, and the studio also contributed to the laserdisc video game Cube Quest. These projects reflected a broader industry transition in which computer-generated imagery began moving from laboratories and demonstrations into advertising, cinema, interactive entertainment, and music promotion. One of the company’s most prominent assignments was its original commission to create visual effects for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. RA&A was subsequently removed from that project after issues concerning the handling of funds. Although the assignment did not result in a completed RA&A contribution to the film on the original terms, the episode remains part of the studio’s documented history and illustrates the financial and production risks facing early computer-graphics companies. The company later contributed to The Jacksons’ 1981 music video “Can You Feel It.” The project brought elaborate computer-generated and composited imagery into a high-profile music-video setting, extending the reach of techniques that RA&A had developed for commercial work. Its Hollywood premises, located near Highland Avenue and Romaine Street, placed the company close to established film and advertising production networks. RA&A closed in 1987 following an ill-fated merger with Omnibus Computer Graphics, which had been based in Toronto. The closure did not end the influence of the studio’s personnel. Former employees and collaborators went on to participate in the creation and growth of other significant computer-graphics organizations, including Wavefront Technologies and Rhythm & Hues. Many alumni later received Academy Awards or worked on other technically groundbreaking projects. RA&A’s historical significance consequently rests on both its surviving body of commercial and entertainment imagery and its role as a training ground for people who helped build the subsequent visual-effects industry.

• 1987

  Operations end after Omnibus merger

  [1]Robert Abel and Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  RA&A closed after an unsuccessful merger with Omnibus Computer Graphics.

• 1981

  Work on “Can You Feel It”

  [1]Robert Abel and Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  The studio contributed visual effects to The Jacksons’ “Can You Feel It” music video.

• 1971

  Company founded

  [1]Robert Abel and Associatesen.wikipedia.org

  Robert Abel and Con Pederson founded Robert Abel and Associates in Hollywood as a specialist animation and visual-production company.

A design-led pioneering computer-animation studio that positioned advanced digital rendering and animation as premium tools for advertising, entertainment, and visual storytelling.

• Advertising production

  Computer-animated television commercials

  RA&A’s core business was the production of high-end television commercials using computer-generated imagery. The studio was recognized for combining sophisticated art direction with emerging rendering and animation methods, including ray-traced imagery and fluid motion. Its commercial work helped make computer animation visible to a mass audience and earned the company numerous Clio Awards.

• Film production

  Film graphics and visual effects

  The company produced or contributed to graphics and visual-effects work for feature-film projects, including The Andromeda Strain and Tron. These assignments extended RA&A’s design and computer-animation capabilities beyond advertising into cinematic production.

• Music-video production · 1981

  “Can You Feel It” music-video effects

  RA&A worked on The Jacksons’ 1981 music video “Can You Feel It,” contributing to the ambitious effects-driven presentation. The project demonstrated how the studio’s commercial computer-graphics expertise could be adapted for music promotion and popular entertainment.

• Interactive entertainment

  Cube Quest graphics

  The studio worked on the laserdisc video game Cube Quest, an early interactive-entertainment project associated with the use of computer-generated graphics. It represented RA&A’s involvement in emerging formats beyond television and film.

• Removal from Star Trek: The Motion Picture assignment

  RA&A was initially commissioned to create visual effects for Star Trek: The Motion Picture but was removed from the project after problems described as mishandling of funds. The available reference does not provide further financial figures or a detailed account of the dispute.

  Source

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• 1981The Jacksons’ “Can You Feel It”

  United States · International music-video audience

  RA&A contributed visual effects to the high-profile music video for The Jacksons’ “Can You Feel It.” The project used elaborate transformation and computer-generated imagery to connect the studio’s advertising innovations with mainstream music entertainment.

  Outcome. The video became a notable example of early effects-heavy music-video production and remains one of the studio’s most recognizable popular-culture credits.

  Source

• 1987

  Merger with Omnibus Computer GraphicsM&A

  Background

  RA&A entered a merger with Omnibus Computer Graphics, a Toronto-based computer-graphics company.

  Action taken

  The two businesses combined, but the merger was unsuccessful.

  Aftermath

  RA&A closed in 1987, and Omnibus later became defunct.

  Source

• Expansion from commercials into entertainment graphicsStrategy

  Background

  After establishing itself through computer-animated advertising, RA&A pursued work in film graphics, music videos, and interactive entertainment.

  Action taken

  The company applied its digital-rendering and animation expertise to projects associated with The Andromeda Strain, Tron, Cube Quest, and The Jacksons’ “Can You Feel It.”

  Aftermath

  This broader project mix increased the studio’s influence across early computer-generated media, although the company ultimately ceased operations in 1987.

  Source

1. 1Robert Abel and Associatesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Commercial Companies: Robert Abel and Associatesohiostate.pressbooks.pub