let baseView = UIView(frame: CGRect(x: 100, y: 100, width: 100, height: 100))
  // add the shadow to the base view
  baseView.backgroundColor = UIColor.clear
  baseView.layer.shadowColor = UIColor.black.cgColor
  baseView.layer.shadowOffset = CGSize(width: 3, height: 3)
  baseView.layer.shadowOpacity = 0.7
  baseView.layer.shadowRadius = 4.0
  self.view.addSubview(baseView)
  
  // add any other subcontent that you want clipped
  let otherSubContent = UIImageView()
  otherSubContent.image = UIImage(named: "lion")
  otherSubContent.frame = baseView.bounds
  otherSubContent.layer.masksToBounds = true
  otherSubContent.layer.cornerRadius = 50
  baseView.addSubview(otherSubContent)