Honoring Bob Abel: VES Bestows First George Méliés Pioneer Award
"The power to do magic" was how Bob Abel often characterized the visual effects techniques pioneered at Robert Abel & Associates, the seminal visual effects studio of the 1970s and '80s. Almost two decades after the lights dimmed at RA&A and three years since Bob's passing, the Visual Effects Society will recognize his great influence on the field with its first George Méliés Pioneer Award, tonight at the Hollywood Palladium as part of the VES Awards 2005 ceremony. Those of us who worked with Bob (for many years I wrote his speeches and SIGGRAPH presentations) can readily imagine what he would say if he was here to accept this honor. The word "magic" would figure prominently, because Abel, an avid student of film history, would remind us that Méliés was a master magician before he pioneered film effects. He would stress that Méliés used effects to tell stories, and not just for their own sake. Bob wouldn't miss the chance to explain the connection between the illusionist's sleight-of-hand and the art of visual effects. Abel was, in fact, a frustrated magician who rued that his small hands hampered his abilities. But he clearly possessed a performer's flair, glibly able to persuade a skeptical client to take a chance on untried effects techniques -- and equally able to convince his studio crew that they could deliver on his promises. One early Abel associate, Richard Edlund, the four-time Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor and Technical Awards committee chair for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, recalls: "Bob had this uncanny ability to charm the socks off you, and he also had no compunction about pushing you to the edge." Abel wooed the advertising industry's elite by telling them that a great commercial "should remind you of something that you've never seen before." And he pointed to more than Clio honors to measure his studio's success, often noting the boost in sales that followed the airing of TV spots like Levis' Brand Name.
The "Combo" Years
Founded in 1971 by Abel and animator Con Pederson (of 2001: A Space Odyssey acclaim) Robert Abel & Associates used streak photography and “photo-fusion” techniques to create a dazzling array of TV logos and commercials like 7Up's See The Light. The studio's painstaking combinations of motion control, live action and graphics -- which Edlund dubbed “photo-masochism” -- became RA&A's stock in trade, and they began amassing a record-setting string of Clio Awards that would eventually total 33.
A self-described "engineering school dropout," Abel was always willing to bet on a new technology that might help RA&A create breakthrough effects. He was fond of quoting Thelonious Monk, "The only cats who are worth anything are those who take risks." Bob's bets didn't always pay off, however, at least not right away. The most infamous example was Abel's attempt at tackling feature film effects for 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Paramount had high hopes for turning the popular TV show into a motion picture -- and to capitalize on the Star Wars craze that was sweeping the country. Abel had grand plans for creating the film's effects; plans which included harnessing computer technology in unprecedented ways. Abel was no stranger to motion picture production, having previously made the concert film Mad Dogs & Englishmen and the Golden Globe-winning Elvis On Tour. But his experimental ambitions for Star Trek outstripped the practical realities of delivering shots on time and on budget, and Paramount pulled the plug. The supervisory assignment was transferred to Doug Trumbull, Con Pederson's collaborator on 2001, and all of RA&A's elaborate models and miniatures were taken away. But left behind was one piece of unproven technology that Abel had acquired for the project. That technology, a computer called the E&S Picture System, would prove to be the spark that fueled the resurgence of RA&A.
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