Robert Goodman was born in Pennsylvania in 1953. He developed an interest in cinema and filmmaking early, and shot several 8mm and super 8mm films in high school. He began his career in 1972 as an Associated Press stringer in Europe and the Middle East. When he returned to the United States, he worked as a commercial photographer and attended Goddard College, where he earned a BA in 1978. His introduction to video came in 1975 when he assisted a colleague with a contract to shoot an advertising campaign for the first portable ENG video camera (the RCA TK76). Goodman worked as a media specialist charged with creating films for the School of Nursing at the College of New Jersey 1980-1981; as a producer and director for the College of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance at Temple University 1981-1984; and as Operations Manager for Videosmith, Inc. in 1985. In 1986 he founded his own production company, Goodman Associates, Inc. (originally named Okovic/Goodman Productions), based in Philadelphia.

As CEO of Goodman Associates, Inc. Goodman has written, directed, and produced dozens of commissioned films and documentaries, longform infomercials, commercials, and corporate marketing videos. Goodman specialized in producing videos for telecommunications companies, the health and beauty industry, public service campaigns, and construction and infrastructure projects. Throughout the 1980's, Goodman Associates, Inc. shot on videotape and 16mm film. Some productions, such as the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society Philadelphia Green project, were shot and edited on film and subsequently transferred on videotape. Others, such as the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's America's Dream Highway project, were shot on professional videotape. Goodman Associates, Inc. produced America's Dream Highway just as the industry transitioned from Beta to BetaSP. Goodman Associates, Inc. mostly used 16mm film for client-based projects until the mid-1990s, when they transitioned into using 35mm film for these projects. Goodman Associates, Inc. followed industry transitions from analog to digital and SD to HD. By the mid-2000s Goodman Associates, Inc. stopped using film in their productions.

Goodman has taken seriously professional development activities in the video production industry. He served on the Board of Directors for the International Television Association (ITVA) Philadelphia Chapter from 1985-1990, and as President of that chapter from 1988-1990. During his term of service he ran three series of professional development seminars for the Philadelphia Chapter and led workshops on scriptwriting software, client relations, and video production techniques at the ITVA International Conferences. Since his involvement with ITVA (which later became the Media Communications Association, or MECA), Goodman has led workshops for the National Association of Broadcasters, Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, ABC Television Networks, and Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers. From 2009-2018 Goodman served as Professor of Digital Filmmaking and Video Production at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, where he taught and created dozens of undergraduate courses in video production, screenwriting, and digital editing. In the fall of 2018, Goodman relocated to Copenhagen, Denmark.