Do screenwriters picture the action or hear the dialogue in their mind?

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I'm wondering if it's a matter of seeing and hearing it first then writing it down or perhaps seeing and hearing it as the story unfolds in their head. Or perhaps it is neither.

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tynamite

I don't really imagine the scenery of things when I write, I just focus on the words. It's only when I read my work back, to check its pace, do I actually imagine the scenery and dialogue. Whether the reader gets that, that's a different story. I just choose words that work good together with good structure. I don't really focus on exhibiting imagery or my unique interpretation. I just focus on the words.

When I write novels or screenplays, such as a sitcom episode I wrote, I just write words that work good in a sequence. I don't really imagine how it'll look on screen. When characters are doing things, I'm not imagining how their actions will look like on the screen. It is only when I read my work back, do I actually imagine the action and dialogue.

I have a way that when I write, I can focus on the plot, structure, characters, and scenery all at once, without specifically rotating through them all, and it just comes natural.

The only time I've ever focused on the action, thinking of a frame by frame visual representation after every sentence, is when I wrote a horror story because that was hard, and when I wrote my 1st novel as it deliberately has little description, and still have the story be vivid. I had to try hard to give the reader the imagery in both cases