Vimeo is today releasing a huge update to Cameo, stripping the app down to its core elements and making the entire experience about editing video. The new app doesn't resemble the old Cameo at all, and the changes are for the better. The old Cameo was sort of a bewildering mixture of social network, Vine, and the joy that is mobile video editing. This new version entirely removes Cameo's social features and Vine-like restrictions so that it's now only a video-editing app. And fortunately, those tools have been redesigned so that they're now much, much easier to use.

This is Cameo's most substantial update since being purchased by Vimeo over a year ago. The change makes it clear that Cameo is meant to be Vimeo's official answer to cutting, coloring, editing, and uploading video on mobile. Rather than leaning on Cameo's social features, the app is now just a way to send mobile videos to Vimeo itself, which will feature them on its site and in its app. No one has really made it big with long-form video on mobile, and while Cameo doesn't seem like the solution, it should be a nice complement to Vimeo's network of polished amateur filmmakers.

As far as video-editing apps go, Cameo isn't particularly unique, but it seems like a fine choice if you want a tool that's simple and easy to use. It lets you import clips from your camera roll — there's no shooting inside the app — put them in order, add text over them, and color them with a handful of filters (they look fine, but never quite as good as you'd hope). The app also includes free music that you can run on top of the videos. The update is being released this morning for iOS, which is where Vimeo says it's focusing its efforts. Vimeo doesn't appear to have immediate plans for bringing Cameo over to other platforms.