[1] 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.

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).

[3] 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.

[4] 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".