Editing The Atomic Cafe (section)

==Production==
''The Atomic Cafe'' was produced over a five-year period through the collaborative efforts of three directors: Jayne Loader and brothers Kevin and Pierce Rafferty.<ref>{{Cite news|title = THEY TURNED OLD MOVIES INTO A TIMELY FILM ABOUT NUCLEAR WAR|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1982/05/16/movies/they-turned-old-movies-into-a-timely-film-about-nuclear-war.html|newspaper = [[The New York Times]]|date = 1982-05-16|access-date = 2015-11-23|issn = 0362-4331|first = Robin|last = Herman}}</ref> For this film, the Rafferty brothers and Loader formed a production company called The Archives Project. The filmmakers opted not to use narration.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2004/cteq/atomic_cafe/|title=The Atomic Cafe – Senses of Cinema|first=Oloruntoba John|last=Olubunmi|website=Senseofcinema.com|date=16 March 2008 |access-date=24 February 2023}}</ref>  Instead, they deployed carefully constructed sequences of film clips to make their points. Jayne Loader has referred to ''The Atomic Cafe'' as "compilation verite":  a compilation film with no "Voice of God" narration and no new footage added by the filmmakers.<ref>[http://www.conelrad.com/jayne_loader.html ''Conelrad: All Things Atomic'']. ''The Atomic Cafe'', Jayne Loader Interview.  Last accessed: February 20, 2011.</ref> The soundtrack utilizes atomic-themed songs from the [[Cold War]] era to underscore the themes of the film.<ref name="Canby">{{cite web |date=17 March 1982 |last=Canby |first=Vincent |author-link=Vincent Canby |title=DOCUMENTARY ON VIEWS ABOUT ATOM BOMB (Published 1982) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/17/movies/documentary-on-views-about-atom-bomb.html |website=[[The New York Times]] }}</ref>

The film cost $300,000 to make. The group did receive some financial support from outside sources, including the Film Fund, a New York City based non-profit.<ref>Trebbe, Ann L. "Cinema Verties." The Washington Post 6 Nov. 1981, C3 sec.</ref> Grants comprised a nominal amount of the team's budget, and the film was largely funded by the filmmakers themselves. Jayne Loader stated in an interview, "Had we relied on grants, we would have starved."<ref name="conelrad.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.conelrad.com/jayne_loader.html|title=CONELRAD: THE ATOMIC CAFE &#124; Jayne Loader Interview [Fall 2002, Winter 2005]|website=Conelrad.com|access-date=24 February 2023}}</ref> Pierce Rafferty helped to support the team and the film financially by working as a consultant and researcher on several other documentary films including the Oscar-nominated ''[[El Salvador: Another Vietnam]]'', the Oscar-nominated ''[[With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade|With Babies and Banners]]'', and ''[[The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter]]'' (which also was inducted into the [[National Film Registry]]).<ref name="Harrington, Richard 1982">Harrington, Richard. "Blast from the Past: 'Atomic Cafe': A Stunning Cold War Collage." The Washington Post 14 May 1982, C1 sec.</ref> The Rafferty brothers had also received an inheritance that they used to support the team during the five years it took to make the film.<ref name="conelrad.com"/> About 75% of the film is made up of government materials that were in the public domain. Though they could use those public domain materials for free, they had to make copies of the films at their own expense. This along with the newsreel and commercial stock footage that comprises the other 25% of the film (along with the music royalties) represents the bulk of the trio's expenditures.<ref name="Harrington, Richard 1982"/>