Swift Implementation:
var gradientLayerView: UIView = UIView(frame: CGRectMake(0, 0, view.bounds.width, 50))
var gradient: CAGradientLayer = CAGradientLayer()
gradient.frame = gradientLayerView.bounds
gradient.colors = [UIColor.grayColor().CGColor, UIColor.clearColor().CGColor]
gradientLayerView.layer.insertSublayer(gradient, atIndex: 0)
self.view.layer.insertSublayer(gradientLayerView.layer, atIndex: 0)